The Greater Good
by alexatm
Summary: This story is how I would like the 4th season to go, almost everything is cannon, I took what happened in the finale and built my version of the story around it. She doesn't leave with Jake. I am not great at summaries or titles, so please give it a shot.
1. Chapter 1

_**AN: I do not own Scandal, it all belongs to Shonda Rhimes and ABC.**_

* * *

She got off the plane.

Olivia knew she couldn't just leave like that, Fitz was going through the worst thing that can happen to a parent. There was also the fact that she couldn't trust the man sitting next to her as far as she could throw him, but she did need him to go away. Olivia was well aware that Jake had spilled some files to Rosen before he left, thinking he would be gone for good, far from Rowan's hands, he knew Olivia wanted to stay off his radar so they would not be going where Rowan had planned for her to go. She knew he couldn't come back to chase after her, so she told the pilot to stop and go back, the only thing he could do was to take that plane as far as it could go to save his ass.

Olivia saw the missed calls from Mellie on her phone; she figured Fitz was in trouble, enough for Mellie to make the call herself. When her phone started ringing again, she finally picked up, the First Lady told her Fitz was doing really bad, she couldn't even get him off the floor in his office. She got to the white house in record time, she ran to his office to find him just like his wife said, on his knees in the middle of the oval crying quietly. Mellie was next to him trying to make him feel better, Andrew was there too, looking desperate to help them both, but seeing there was nothing for him to do he just stood on the other side of the office trying not to disturb anyone. When Olivia walked in, Mellie looked up and stood away from Fitz.

"Thanks for coming" She said to Olivia

"I'm sorry I took so long to get here, I got caught up on something" She answered apologetically.

When Fitz heard her voice, he finally looked up, the broken shell of a man that once was Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III looked at her with desperation and grief written all over his face. She slowly walked towards him and kneeled next to him. "Fitz, sweetheart, I'm here, please talk to me" she whispered to his ear. In that moment he lost the little bit of control he had left in him.

He started sobbing uncontrollably. Liv couldn't stop herself from crying too, seeing the love of her life so utterly heartbroken.

"He's gone liv, my baby boy, he's gone" he said between sobs.

Mellie had gone to stand next to Andrew, she had never seen Fitz like that, she was grieving too, and seeing him like that only made her feel worse. Andrew could see how much she was suffering too, he wanted to hold her and make her feel better but at that moment all he could do was reach for her hand.

Fitz sobs started to subside while Olivia stroked his hair and held him as tight as she could. After what seemed like ages he seemed to have calmed down so she decided to try and get him off the floor.

"Honey, can you stand up, to the couch at least, please" she whispered again. He started moving so she took that as a yes. He was shaking as he tried to get up, and Olivia slowly guided him to the couch. Fitz just sat there staring at nothing, she told him she'd be right back, and walked to where Mellie and Andrew were standing.

"I am going to go out briefly and get Cyrus to make the announcement that Fitz won't be addressing the nation today, I know this is far from ideal, but I think I should stay with him tonight" The First Lady simply nodded in agreement. With that she finished her short conversation with them and walked out to take care of things.

She came back shortly after, and told Mellie and Andrew it was all taken care of, Fitz wouldn't have to do his speech until he was ready. They both thanked her and left the office together. They would be staying at the blair house. Liv walked over to Fitz, and sat next to him.  
"Fitz, I think you need to get some rest, lets go up to the residence, it's far more comfortable than this" she said sweetly. Again without answer he started moving, he was still shaking, Liv had managed to get him to the couch, but getting him to the residence all by herself would be a lot harder to accomplish.

"Tom, could you please come in here" She spoke loudly enough for him to hear her. He rushed inside the office.

"Could you help me get the President to his room?"  
"Yes ma'am"

They both held to one of his arms, Tom was carrying most of his weight, they walked slowly until they reached his bed. He sat down and Tom left them alone. Olivia took his clothes off and got him under the covers. She shut the curtains and turned off the lights. After that, she got undressed too and got in next to him. He held her tight and after a while they both dozed off.

The next morning he woke up alone, and almost panicked, until he heard the water running in the bathroom. She came out of the bathroom, the light was coming in from the windows and Fitz thought it made her look like an angel. She walked back to the bed when she saw he was awake.

"Hi" he said in a low voice. "I thought for a moment I had dreamt the whole thing" he continued.

"Well you didn't, I'm right here" she spoke softly as she sat on the bed and stroked his face "how are you feeling?"

"Better I guess, yesterday was just too much of everything, but having you here helps a lot" he said before grabbing her hand away from his face and placing soft kisses on it.

"How about you take a shower and I get us some breakfast, you need to eat something"

"Ok, I'm not really hungry but I guess I have to eat at some point" He was still holding her hand; he had moved it to rest on top of his heart. She gave him one of those smiles he loved so much, and he found the strength to get up from the bed and go shower.

Once she heard the water running she got her phone and called Huck, one of the few people she could trust.

"Huck, how are things going, is everything working as it should"

"Yes liv, everything is going according to plan" he answered

"Ok, I will try to work things out here as fast as I can"

With that he hung up and she moved on to getting dressed and ordering food.

* * *

After a few days Fitz was doing much better, he and Mellie were getting counseling and Olivia was doing her best to comfort him. He was well enough to make his speech and the initial shock was finally passing. She was waiting for him on the dining room for lunch when her main cell phone rang. She knew who it was.

"Dad"

"Olivia" He answered coldly

"I know, what you are thinking, I will leave ok, I just couldn't do it at that moment. Also I wanted Jake to go ahead and get everything ready for my arrival. I had a few things I had to fix before leaving, but don't sweat it Father I'm not staying much longer." She told him firmly, leaving no room for argument. It wasn't exactly what he wanted but he could live with it as long as she left some time soon.

"Ok, just know what we've talked bout, it's for the best, just don't take too long" with that Rowan Pope ended the call and went back to business, he really liked being the boss again.  
When Fitz finally arrived he knew something was not ok, he could just feel it. Olivia looked at him and half smiled.

"Fitz we need to talk"

He sat next to her at the table, he knew it was coming, everything was too good to be true, he needed her, but also knew if her mind was made up it would be near impossible to change it. Also it didn't help that Fitz felt he didn't deserve her and thought that he was doing more harm that good to her by having her there in the middle of his messed up life.

"You are leaving me" he said, as a fact not a question. She noticed the tone in his voice, his eyes beginning to water, piercing right through her, but she had to be strong. Everything she was doing was for everyone's best interest.

"I am" she said, barely a whisper. She took a breath to compose herself before she continued. "I have to Fitz, you have to understand, there are so many things that have gone wrong for you, or that have caused you pain that were my fault" she spoke evenly trying to avoid her emotions getting in the way. "But liv," he tried to interrupt, but she held up one hand to stop him and kept going.

"If I stay, all I'd be doing is putting your life, and the lives of everyone you care about, at risk" she continued "Also, you need to fix your family, you have to make things right with your wife, and your daughter so you can get through what happened, and you can't do that properly if I'm here hovering around and clouding your judgment"

She did her best to keep it together but it was not possible, tears were falling down her cheeks already. Fitz reached for her face to wipe the tears away, he knew he had to let her go, but it was too painful.

"Please, one minute" he whispered as he wiped away her tears and felt his own falling freely on his face. Olivia held his gaze and took his hands in hers, she held them for a little while. She finally got up, she stood there in front of him and bent down slightly to kiss his forehead.

"Good bye Fitz" She said, her voice breaking. He just sat there unable to move while the love of his life walked away, and not knowing if she would ever come spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on the same spot, a part of him knew it was coming, but it just hurt too much. He only reacted when Karen walked in the room holding Teddy in her arms.

"Dad, are you ok?" She asked, her voice full of concern. He turned to look at her, and tried to smile.

"Yes, sweetheart, it's just been a long day" he answered. "Would you and Teddy like something to eat?" he asked his daughter hoping to clear the air.

"Sure, you want me to ask the cook?"

"Nope, tonight I'm cooking, lets go to the kitchen, and hope I don't break anything" he said with a smirk.

Karen thought her dad was acting odd, but how could he not after Jerry's death. She just figured he was making an effort to be there for her and Teddy, and she liked the new attitude, she just wished her brother could be there to see it too.

* * *

Olivia left the White House to run errands and get some food. A few hours later she drove into a shady area outside of DC, it was getting dark already, she parked behind black Malibu with tinted windows. She got out of her car and got into the other one. Huck was waiting for her inside.

"Huck, I don't mean to question your methods, but did you steal this car?"

"More like I borrowed" he answered trying to lighten things up.

Olivia's moral compass was going a bit crazy with the execution of her plan but it was necessary.

"Anyway, lets get going, we need to move fast, what will you do with my car?"

"Did you remove any personal items of it?" She nodded "then don't worry, in this place, there will be nothing left of it in a few hours. They spent most of the ride in silence; both preoccupied with their own problems as well as the one they shared.


	2. Chapter 2

_**AN: First of all, thanks for taking the time to read my story. Sadly Olivia does have to leave for now, but it's all for a good reason and she will come back cause Olitz. I made some stuff up about Huck's wife Kim, because there's not much information about her so I guess it's fine.**_

* * *

Two weeks earlier

_Huck stepped into the front porch of his wife's house, he didn't like the terms of his visit but Liv needed him, and it seemed to be the best way to go. He rang the bell. He heard footsteps getting close, and almost ran._

_She opened the door, her eyes went wide, and she collapsed. Huck caught her on time and brought her inside. He walked to the living room and gently placed her on the couch. He sat on the opposite side, as far away from her as he could, so she would not be scared when she woke up._  
_When she finally came to her senses, she slowly sat up, confused to where she was, until she saw Huck. She brought her hands to her mouth and just sat there in shock. He figured he had to be one to talk._

_"I'm sorry" Huck decided to open with those simple words, also he wasn't sure how to go about things after all that happened, considering he wasn't the best with people._

_"I'm sorry about everything that happened, about being gone for so long, about hurting you" he continued "If I could change things I would" he rubbed his hands on his thighs trying to stay focused and calm. "When I came back they offered a job I never really wanted, but they told me if I didn't take it I'd go back to war" he was quiet for a moment and almost laughed "Thinking back, that would've been better"_

_Kim was sitting there quiet, trying to make sense of Huck's words. She thought he had gotten into something illegal considering the way they took him, but hearing him she doubted that was the case._

_"They couldn't have a guy with a family, but I couldn't just let it go, so they tortured me into believing you didn't exist, it was bad so I kinda lost it, and I was of no use to them anymore, but a guy spared my life" his voice was barely above a whisper, but is was so quiet in the room, she could hear him without trouble._

_"I ran and lived in the shadows, homeless, barely keeping it together, until Olivia Pope found me. She saved me" He let that last part sink in before he kept talking._

_"You mean Olivia Pope, as in President Grant's Olivia Pope" Kim asked. Huck just nodded in agreement._

_"I don't really expect you to forgive me or to be back in your life; I am not the same person you met, and I can't tell you more cause you would be scared and it could put you in danger, actually I go by the name of Huck now. The thing is we need your help, please just hear her out"_

_Everything just seemed so weird to Kim, and her logical side was telling her to kick him out and try to forget everything that happened that day, but something in his expression, the way he spoke, or the silent plea in his eyes told her to go along at least until she could find out more. She nodded in agreement and he took his phone out._

_"Olivia, please come in"_

* * *

It wasn't such a long drive to Burke, where Huck would leave the "borrowed" malibu, and switch to the SUV he had already prepared; a black highlander with fake plates, that had the gps rigged to show an incorrect location and it also had tinted windows. After switching cars, they would go meet Kim to get everything going. All the driving around DC was getting ridiculous, but sadly it was necessary.

When they arrived at Kim's, Huck got out first to make sure it was safe. Olivia got out when Huck gave her the clear. They got in through the backdoor to avoid getting attention from the neighbors. Kim was impatiently waiting for them in the kitchen.

"Is everything ok? Is the boy safe?" Huck asked to make sure his son was somewhere far.

"Yes, he is already in my sister's house" She answered in a low voice, the whole situation was bit too much for her.

"I will go prepare the cargo so you can get going right away" With that Huck excused himself and left Olivia and Kim alone.

"So you will not be coming with us?" Kim asked

"No, it's for the best, I will be taking a flight to Nassau, and a bit of a road less traveled to get back to the US" Olivia answered.

Kim nodded, and they stood there in awkward silence for a few minutes until Huck returned.

"Everything is ready, cargo is been placed in your car" Huck announced when he walked back to the kitchen, luckily Kim already had an SUV, it was in good shape and the windows where dark enough, he only made a few changes to it a few days before. Kim left to go get her things so they could all leave.

"I am taking you to a nearby bar so you can take a cab from there to the airport, you have your burner phone with my number on speed dial, call me when you get to Nassau, then toss that phone and start using the other one." he instructed Olivia, until she interrupted. "and my new documents are safely hidden on my carry on luggage, got it" She said, forcing a smile. Kim came back with a duffel bag over her shoulder.

About 15 minutes minutes later Kim was on the road already and Huck was dropping Olivia off at the bar, it was 10pm they were right on schedule. Rowan would be able to track her leaving the country to the Bahamas, but if everything went according to their plan he wouldn't register her return. Huck would meet her at the bus station in Tampa. Olivia had to hire a seaplane to take her from Nassau to Key Largo, then a Ferry from Key Largo to Homestead, and finally a bus from Homestead to Tampa. All paid with cash and returning to the mainland with a new name.

* * *

The day after Olivia left, Fitz decided to get his life in order, so if Olivia came back, they could finally be together the right way. He called his personal lawyer first thing in the morning so he got the divorce papers to him by lunch. That afternoon he dropped the bomb on Mellie. At first she protested and left the oval in a rage fit, however, after calming down and a long conversation with Andrew she realized there was no point in fighting, it was best for both of them. She called her lawyer so they could arrange everything. They would split their property; He would keep his family ranch in California and a couple of other properties in the south, she would get the townhouse in Boston and the Manhattan penthouse. As for Karen and Teddy, she didn't even argue they had to stay with him. The guilt from failing Jerry as a mother was always in her mind, but not really about keeping him close to her, she was well aware that she was not the motherly type, she felt guilty about forcing Fitz to send them away. After all they were her kids, maybe she couldn't provide the care and love they deserved, but Fitz could and she denied them that chance. It was too late for Jerry, but not for Karen and Teddy.

After everything that happened Fitz decided that it was fine if she wanted to stay in the residence for a while, as long as she slept in a different room. They were cordial to each other so it wasn't so bad. Karen had asked Fitz how could they live like that, still making a show after all that had happened so he told her about the impending divorce.

"Your mother will only be staying here until we are officially divorced, and she's actually moving to the Blair house in a few days" He assured his daughter. Karen took a deep breath and asked the question she'd been thinking about since she heard divorce.

"What will happen to Teddy and me?" She voiced full of concern.

"You guys are staying with me, I get full custody, and you will visit your mother occasionally" He answered with a smile. Karen returned the smile, before she got up to hug him.

"Come on kiddo, it's getting late, lets get you to bed"

Fitz was quite pleased with himself, he had accomplished a lot that day, his lawyer would file the papers in the morning. He also had to meet with Andrew, he had a feeling he would be losing his vp after Mellie moved away, so he had to make arrangements. Cyrus would be livid, but he had to get him a list of possible replacements. He tried to sleep, but his mind kept going to Olivia. Fitz ended up taking the sleep meds the doctor gave him after Jerry's death so he could get some rest.

* * *

Olivia got to Nassau in the middle of the night, she caught the last flight from DC, she took a cab to the marina Huck instructed her to go. Once she was there she called Huck to let him know and tossed the phone into the ocean.

Huck was still hours away from Tampa , and Kim was taking a rather slow trip to Tallahassee. It took Olivia a little while to find the guy who would take her to Key Largo. They took off at dawn, and she got to Homestead around 8:30 am, and took the first bus she found to Tampa. She got there at 1:00 and Huck was already waiting for her.

They finally got to Kim around 4:30 pm, he couldn't drive as fast during the day. Kim was waiting for them at the abandoned warehouse Huck had found. He transferred the cargo to his SUV, so they could leave ASAP. Olivia thanked Kim, and Huck arranged to call her later to make sure she got to her sister in Baton Rouge safe and sound. They said goodbye, Kim drove back to downtown Tallahassee to find a motel to rest for a couple of hours before hitting the road again. Olivia and Huck couldn't afford to waste any time so they got on the road immediately and only stopped for gas and energy drinks. After 24 hours of non-stop traveling they got to their safe house in Houma, LA.

The house had been bought under her fake identity, Lucy Wilson; Rowan gave her a lot of money so she could get away, and Huck had been transferring money from her savings to an offshore account on Lucy's name for a while, just in case it was needed. Through several complicated moves Huck "bought" her a house in Nassau with Rowan's money, so he could transfer the money to an untraceable account linked to a P.O. box, and withdraw most of it in cash to get the actual house for "Lucy", the rest was sent to the offshore account. He got Olivia enough cash to get by for a long time and he would get her more when needed.

Both exhausted from the very long trip, they got the cargo into the house and crashed for the night. However, as tired as she was, Olivia was having a hard time falling asleep, because she kept thinking about Fitz. After a while, tiredness finally took over and she fell asleep.

AN: I apologize if the whole plan-travel thing is confusing, it's just that Rowan can't find them so it can't be easy. Did my best to explain it all but feel free to ask. I did my best to research all the travel times and distances and I belive I got it ok, but I'm only human so if you spot some weird mistake or something I'm sorry. Hope you guys enjoyed it.


	3. Chapter 3

_**AN: Here's the third chapter. I just want to thank you all for reading, reviewing, following and everything. I hope you guys are liking it so far, please share your thoughts I can take it. Anyway enjoy :)**_

* * *

She was feeling a bit more awake after the shower, so she went downstairs to get a cup of tea and something to eat. Huck was hunched over his laptop on the kitchen counter.

"Good morning Huck" Olivia greeted him, he just looked up and nodded. "What are you working on?"

"I am finishing the set up of your security system, I already made sure our other situation is well. There are a few things I need to explain to you and the place still needs a bunch of things. I can't stay here much longer so we better hurry" After he was finished he went back to the screen.

"Ok just let me eat something and we'll get started" He just nodded again and she busied herself with breakfast.

* * *

Fitz got up early that morning, he wanted to call his lawyer and make sure divorce papers were filed before he went into his meeting. Karen had already gone back to school so everything seemed to be getting better, everything but his situation with Olivia, she hadn't been gone for long and he was feeling desperate.

After his meeting he told Cyrus to go to his office to discuss the divorce and VP situation, he had neglected his job enough with personal issues, and if he got reelected despite everything, he had to do his best.

"Cyrus, please take a sit" he said after Cyrus walked in

"I don't like your tone, what did you do" he eyed Fitz suspiciously

"Ok then, right to the point" he paused for a moment "I filed for divorce" he said calmly. Cyrus was in shock for a moment, his face went from white to red to purple in less than a second.

"YOU DID WHAT!" he yelled "Oh god, this is bad, so bad, I can just think of the things she must be planning against you, this is going to be a bloodbath, maybe we can still take it back, we have to handle this with care, ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!" Cyrus ranted until he was out of breath. Fitz just waited patiently for him to calm down.

"I thought with Olivia gone this wouldn't come up anymore!" he said with desperation in his voice. With that Fitz stopped being so calm.

"Cyrus, just don't, I won't talk about Olivia with you, that is none of your damn business"

"Are you still in touch with her, is she just waiting, you got some thing going?"

"Again, none of your business, but no, sadly there's nothing, I just can't stay married to Mellie anymore, I already got reelected and she is on board with it so relax please" He said in an attempt to calm Cyrus.

"You expect me to believe this has nothing to do with Olivia?" He said already calming.

"I'm not going to stay on that hell of a marriage just because she left, I won't do it anymore, I decided to be a better man and face things head on, so I'm getting a divorce, can't really say it has nothing to do with Olivia because I would like to be free to be with her if she comes back. It's for the best, my daughter thanked me for it" Fitz finished his speech and waited for Cyrus to take it all in.  
"I guess they can't really kick you out of office for getting divorced, was that all you needed to tell me?" He asked actually fearing the answer. Fitz stayed quiet for a moment deciding how to drop the next bomb. He took a deep breath and just went straight to it.

"No, the thing is, we might need a new VP"

That earned him a new tantrum from Cyrus, he just couldn't understand how he could be so okay with Mellie and Andrew being together. Fitz simply told him that after all he still wanted her to be happy, that was probably the best way to get her to stop being a bitch, and if Andrew was the one for her, he would be fine with it.

They talked about how they would handle it with the media once the divorce was final, when they would make it public and what would happen if Andrew decided to leave with her. Fitz wanted to suggest calling Olivia's team, she was gone but they were still pretty qualified and knew all his secrets, but he was afraid Cyrus would have a stroke this time. Luckily for both, Cyrus suggested it, he did see the convenience of them knowing so much already.

* * *

After all the touchy subjects were discussed, they went on about more official matters, Fitz had set his mind on doing his best as a father and President to be worthy of Olivia. At 6pm he dropped all the work to go have dinner with his children. Karen was really surprised when she saw him walking into the residence.

"Hey dad, I didn't expect to see you now, I thought you had lots of work, from taking it easy last week" Karen said while she walked to the dinner table. Teddy's nanny was setting him up on his high chair.

"I do have lots of work, but a man's gotta eat and I like you guys better than Cyrus" he said with a smirk.

"That's mean dad" She answered laughing "I asked the cook for fish sticks and mac n' cheese, do you mind? cause we could eat something else"

"I think it's perfect" he assured his daughter with a big smile on his face.

Dinner went great, it was the best meal he'd had in ages, he even got his appetite back. However when he went back to his office all alone, his mind went to Olivia, it was killing him not hearing anything from her. He decided to call her friend office to discuss working with them, he wanted to start ASAP, mainly because he wanted to find out if they knew anything about Olivia.

"Olivia Pope and associates, minus Olivia Pope, what can I help you with" a female voice answered.

"Well I was wondering if you guys were taking clients" Fitz replied

Abby recognized his voice immediately, and almost choked on her Chinese takeout "Mr. President, are you in need of our services?" she asked

"Yes Ms. Whelan I do, could we set up a meeting for tomorrow?"

"Sure, do we go to the White House or are you dropping by?" Abby answered not really caring for formalities, she didn't think it was necessary after everything that had happened.

"You come here, is 11 am ok? we can all eat lunch afterwards" Fitz suggested

"Yeah, it's not like we have that much work these days, may I ask what this is about" she inquired

Fitz took a moment before he answered "I'm getting a divorce"

Abby just sat there in shock at his revelation so he proceeded to end the call

"I will see you tomorrow, goodnight Gabby, I mean Abby" with that he hung up and went back to work.

* * *

Olivia and Huck had been working all day on the house, she was exhausted again, but it had to be done. Huck explained her everything about the security system, and they went over the precautions she had to take to not be recognized. She had to change her looks, to match the new identity, her hair and clothes had to be all different, she would miss her perfect outfits but it had to be done. Huck would go shopping for her the next morning while she got her hair all curled up with blonde and red streaks in. She would also be wearing some hideous glasses, it sounded stupid, but all that along with the messy clothes and she totally looked like a different person. She sat on the couch with a glass of her favorite red trying to ease her mind when Huck took a sit across from her and cleared his throat.

"Yes?" she asked

"I will be going back to DC tomorrow afternoon, and I need to make sure you know how to handle everything on your own, so I was thinking you should help me tonight, get your hands dirty, just to make sure you got it all"

He was absolutely right so she nodded and reluctantly put her glass on the coffee table, got up and followed his lead.


	4. Chapter 4

_**AN: So... We are getting close to the good stuff,**_ _**I hope you enjoy this. I meant to update sooner but life got in the way, also you may find spelling mistakes or typos, it happens a lot when I'm sleep deprived. To the reviewer who suggested karen should be more upset, you made some interesting points so I'm working on it, thanks. Please leave your thought, what you like or not, I truly appreciate it. That's all, I think, thanks for reading.**_

After talking to Abby, Fitz told Cyrus the meeting was set for 11 the next day. Cyrus didn't think it had to be so soon, but he figured Fitz had other reasons for wanting to meet Olivia's team ASAP.

David was at the office when Abby got the call, he swore to secrecy and she told him the reason why the president needed their services. The next morning when she was getting ready he insisted on going with her, since the gladiators were only her and Quinn at the moment.  
"Come on, I got nothing big at work now and you guys are really short on people" He made his case  
"Yeah if this had something fishy going on, but what do you know about public image?"  
"I know enough, and remember I lived at pope and associates for a while, I think I can help" he pleaded  
"Fine, you can come, but only because I'm still on the fence about Quinn" Abby finally agreed.  
The truth was, David didn't really care about the the president's divorce, he just needed to get to Fitz. He knew that if he tried contacting him he would risk someone hearing the conversation, and the only other person he could get too was Cyrus, and he didn't really trusted the guy would do the right thing. Those files Jake had left him were really upsetting him, he didn't know what to do because it was too dangerous, command could get rid of him without trouble, and with Olivia gone, there was no safe and not-suspicious way of getting to the president.

The three of them arrived at the White House a bit early, but they let them in anyway. They waited outside the oval for a few minutes until Fitz arrived. Luckily for all Cyrus had another meeting to attend and would be joining them until later.  
"Good morning, please come in" Fitz said as he entered his office.  
"Your team looks different" he added  
"Yeah well, Harrison went through some stuff recently and he left, all I got was a call, and he told me this was too much for him and needed to get away" Abby explained "And Huck is going through some very difficult personal issues so he is away at the moment" She continued "As for Olivia, you probably know more than us, so it's just me and Quinn, and this guy offered to help out due to the shortage of people" she said pointing to David  
"Wait, so you don't know anything about Olivia, I was hoping you could tell me something, just anything, because I'm in the dark" He said worried.  
"I swear, she just said she felt guilty and needed to get away, Jake tried to get her to stay, but she refused, then he said he would leave with her." At the mention of Jake, Fitz blood started to boil, he had taken advantage of the situation. But before he said anything Abby kept talking. "But, then Huck told me she didn't leave with him and stayed with you for a little while, that's why I said you may know more than me"  
Fitz was utterly confused, that meant Olivia took so long to get to him because she was with Jake. That could mean she went to him after she finally left, not knowing what actually happened was eating him alive, but now it was worse because there was a chance she was with that idiot.  
Abby saw Fitz reaction and realized she might have said too much, she didn't actually think Olivia was with Jake, but she couldn't be sure.  
"Look I don't think she went to him, I think he left because he had some trouble and Olivia didn't want anything to do with it" She tried to calm him  
David just sat there thinking they had no idea how big the trouble Jake had gotten himself into.  
Fitz snapped out of his troubled thoughts and came back to the present. There was nothing he could do at the moment about Olivia, but he could start getting his life in order.  
"Yeah, you are probably right, lets get to work"

They discussed his situation and how to handle it for a while, he tried to focus into the task at hand but it was too hard. Before talking to Abby, Fitz only thought she had left to god know where but now he also thought she could be with Jake. Food was brought over around noon and they stopped the work to eat. They were fixing their plates of assorted italian food and Fitz asks David for a sauce container. David figured it was his shot to give Fitz a note before Cyrus arrived and it wouldn't show on camera. Fitz felt the paper when he got the container, he was about to say something, but saw the fear and anxiety on David's face. After they all eat he excused himself for the bathroom and took the note with him, whatever it was it seemed very serious, so he locked himself in and started reading.  
"Mr. President, There is something I need to discuss with you, it is about b613, Jake left something before leaving, it is very dangerous and I have no idea how to proceed. I am sorry about what I'm going to say next, but I don't trust your chief of staff very much, and believe when I tell you this is very serious, we need to meet in private, somewhere safe from being hear or seen or taped. Command is to feared."  
Fitz was mighty intrigued about the note, he tore it and flushed down the toilet, then he got a piece of paper to write a note himself. He wrote a meeting place and time for that night, whatever it was he had to know soon.  
He came back to his office and gave David a look to let him know he read the note, and then went on like nothing had happened. Cyrus got there a few minutes later, they worked for about another hour and set up a new meeting a week later when he heard something about the divorce. They decided it was better to make it public before, just in case something got leaked. It was better to prepare the nation coming out with the truth saying they started the process and do an interview, instead of just dropping it like yeah we got divorced. They would have to play the whole we tried as hard as we could, did counseling, prayed, and everything charade, but Abby was confident it would work.  
When they were leaving, Fitz shook David's hand and passed him the note. David was relieved to say the least, he really hoped they could do something soon.

* * *

Huck had gotten everything settled for Olivia, he had planned to leave around three pm  
just in case something else was needed during the morning. He found some decent looking wigs for Olivia, so she didn't have to actually change her hair, and that way she could change looks more often. He also took the time to explain her how to check the house and her phone for bugs, it shouldn't be a problem since no one knew where she was and she would barely leave the house, but you could never be too careful. They would change their burner phones every few weeks too as a precaution. However what concerned him the most was that she had learned well how to work the syringes and the iv drip and the drugs. Hopefully things would be ok until everything cleared up.  
"Is Kim ok?" Olivia inquired.  
"Yes, she will be staying with her sister for another couple of days" He answered  
"Kim was great help, everyone at OPA thinks you are gone because of her, so no one thinks you left with me" She talked as she walked with Huck to the door. He simply nodded.  
She finally asked the question that had been bugging her for a while "Have you heard from Harrison?"  
"No, his intervention was rather unexpected" He told Olivia "He may have gotten away, but considering your father I wouldn't get my hopes up"  
This time it was Olivia who just nodded, she was afraid he voice might crack if she spoke. Without much of a goodbye Huck walked out the door and told her to call if she needed help. He was going back to DC by bus, it was a pretty inconspicuous way home, but he always went the extra mile when it came to command so he decided to change buses a couple of time along the way.

* * *

As the day went by, Fitz decided to focus on work so he could be done early to spend time with his kids. It seemed like it was going to be a quiet afternoon until 3 pm, when Lauren delivered some not so good news to Fitz. A few days before he had asked her that if she knew about anything that happened concerning Teddy or Karen she should tell him, since the divorce wasn't final yet, Mellie was still the one "handling" everything. It turned out Karen had gotten in trouble at school and Mellie had been called in. It was almost the end of the school day, so Karen was sent home. Fitz decided to go to the residence and talk to her so he dropped everything and started towards the door, but he was stopped by Cyrus.  
"Where are you going" he asked Fitz standing in front of him.  
"I am going to see my daughter because she had trouble at school" Fitz replied  
"But, sir, you have work, there are so many things you have to do"  
"Yes, and my daughter is way more important"  
"Just let Mellie handle it" Cyrus told him exasperated.  
"When has she ever handled anything about the kids?" Fitz answered, he was getting pissed. "Just back off Cyrus I'm going, and you can't stop me.  
With that, Fitz almost pushed Cyrus out of the way and left the office, the conversation had gotten him a bit mad, and that was not the way he wanted to talk to Karen. He was working on calming down as he approached the residence, but what he saw as he entered, completely banished any hint of calm he had in him. Mellie was tearing Karen a new one, she was yelling about her having to behave better and in the way a first daughter should, she kept babbling about how reckless and irresponsible she had been. Karen just sat on the couch listening to her mother with tears in her eyes. Fitz' blood was boiling, he was seeing red, how could she yell at Karen like that.  
"What the hell Mellie!" he nearly screamed.  
Mellie just gave him a confused look and said nothing. He walked to her, and grabbed her armed.  
"May I have a word with you, in private" he said through gritted teeth. She just nodded nodded.  
"Karen sweetheart we'll be right back" He said as calmly as he could to his daughter, he walked to her and kissed her forehead before he dragged Mellie away to another room.  
Once he closed the door, he began unleashing his anger.  
"What the fuck was that Mellie? What were you thinking? Do you actually believe yelling at her is the best way to go? Did you even ask her what happened, did you bother to find out what made her so upset, do you even fucking care?" He was basically screaming by the time he was done, his only concern was if Karen could hear him.  
Mellie was a bit too shocked to say anything, Fitz never acted that way, and it had scared her a bit.  
"Well, I just… her behavior… what she did was wrong" She managed to get out.  
Fitz rubbed his temples and took a deep breath before he spoke again.  
"You know what Mellie, just fuck off, I will handle this, just go, I don't want you to make it any worse" he paused for a moment to not get mad again "She is in lots of pain right now after everything that's happened, did you even consider how your words and your attitude could hurt her?" He said as he looked at Mellie with disgust. "So just leave, please"  
He walked toward the door and held it open for Mellie, she walked past him and he followed right behind. Mellie was thinking about saying something, but she could feel Fitz eyes on her back so she simply told Karen they would see each other some other time and left. Fitz walked to the couch where Karen was sitting with a puzzled expression on her face and sat beside her. He put his arm around her and used his other hand to wipe a tear from her cheek.  
"Im sorry about that" he said sweetly "Would you like to tell me what happened?"  
Karen looked at him with fear in her eyes, then she just buried her face on his chest and started crying again. He felt heartbroken seeing her like that, he held her and stroked her hair to calm her down.  
"It's ok sweetheart, we don't have to talk about it right now, everything is going to be ok" he told her in an attempt to make her feel better.  
Her sobs began to subside, and she moved a bit so she could talk, but didn't look up. She told Fitz some kids at her new school had been talking crap about him and herself, but the worst part is they had the nerve to say that if Jerry hadn't gotten sick, he would have ended his life just so he didn't have to deal with his family anymore, that he was lucky to be gone.  
"It used to be me and Jerry against the world, we would stick together when things got bad, but now it's just me, and I know that I am supposed to ignore them and take the high road, but I just couldn't, I am sorry if I let you down but I couldn't." She finally said  
"Ok, first of all, I could never be disappointed in you, and second, I guess that girl should've seen your fist coming" he said holding back a laugh. That last part actually worked and Karen started laughing.

Fitz stayed in the residence for a while talking to Karen, he asked her how therapy was, if the therapist was good or she wanted to try a new one. Finally he asked if she wanted to change schools.  
"I don't think that's necessary dad, it would probably be the same" she replied  
"I could try to get some of those kids arrested, but it might look bad" he said with a smirk  
"I will be ok dad, and not everyone at the school is so bad"  
"Ok, but if you change your mind just let me know" he paused "and i'll send the cops for them"  
After that she said she wanted to be alone, but instead of going back to the office he went to find teddy to spend some time with him. He was still going to come back for dinner even if Cyrus threatened to have a stroke.

* * *

Rowan was sitting, in his office just enjoying having all the power again. Poor gullible president Grant put b613 on his hands again, having no idea he was responsible for his son's death. Olivia had gone away finally, and Ballard would keep her safe. Rowan figured since Jake cared for his daughter he could let his command stint go unpunished so he could take care of her. Everything was finally how it should be and nobody could change it.


	5. Chapter 5

_**AN: 5th chapter finally. It's getting a bit harder to write this. Some really big things are going on, and well Rowan needs to be stopped bcause he is evil. I hope you guys enjoy.**_

Fitz asked Karen if she could wait for him to have dinner at 7, even if Teddy ate before, he could still put him in bed himself and eat with his daughter. He thought Cyrus might be a problem, but it turned out he wanted to leave too. He didn't spend much time with Ella, sometimes she didn't even want him to hold her, and he had found her holding a photo of James with her staring at it. He was afraid Ella didn't really recognize him as her father. After all Cyrus Beene did have a heart. That worked great for Fitz because not only he could have dinner with Karen, but he could have his late meeting with Davis sans Cyrus.

* * *

Abby sat in her living room waiting for her dinner to arrive when Huck called her, he was still hours away from DC, but he wanted to know how everything was over there.  
"Hello" she answered, not knowing who it was  
"Hi" replied Huck. "I am on my way back to DC, I should be there early tomorrow morning"  
"Are you ok, where are you, what happened" Abby inquired  
"I just wanted you to know I'm coming back, is everything ok over there?" Huck asked.  
"Yeah, we are all good, got a job with Fitz, no big deal, but Huck what" Abby's rant was cut short by Huck "I will see you tomorrow good bye" With that he ended the call leaving Abby's questions unanswered. She tried calling back, but he had called from a pay phone.

David arrived a few minutes later, Abby thought he was acting weird, like he was scared and nervous.  
"Are you ok?" She asked him.  
"Yeah, just tired, and I have a meeting later tonight, long story" he said in a rush.  
"Ok… I have the feeling you are hiding something from me, but I'll give you some time to come clean cause I'm tired now"  
David actually relaxed a little, he really didn't want to get into that conversation with Abby at the moment, when he didn't even know what was going to happen.  
The truth was, Abby would just wait for Huck to get there and she would ask him to find out what was going on with David. Their food arrived finally, and they ate in silence. David left her apartment shortly after because he had to got to his place to get the papers he chose to show Fitz.

* * *

Jake was living in fear. His decision to give those files to David had been a real bad one, he thought he could be a hero, how stupid he felt now, he had fucked up badly. Everything was bad, he feared for his life every waking moment, and had anxiety attacks. He could almost feel the pain already, of Command torturing him to death.

* * *

Karen was feeling a lot better when Fitz arrived at the residence for dinner. He found her in Teddy's room, she was playing with him while they waited for Fitz, he was ready for bed. Fitz picked him up from the floor and kissed his chubby cheeks, the little boy laughed as he grabbed Fitz face with his tiny hands and placed a few sloppy kisses on his dad's face.  
"This boy is a bit to awake for someone who is going to bed soon" he said with a chuckle.  
"Yeah, it happens sometimes dad, his poor nanny has had some hard times putting him to bed" Karen explained.  
"Lets hope I have a bit more luck" he stopped to think for a moment "He honey, could you hold your brother for a bit, I have something that might help" Fitz said  
Karen extended her arms and Teddy went to her willingly. Fitz had remembered that a few days before, when Liv was there he told her that he wanted to be a better dad and do more stuff with his kids, even simple things like putting Teddy to bed. Later that day she handed him a gift bag, inside was a bedtime book. She told him he might need it sometime.  
He walked back into Teddy's room a few minutes later with the book in his hands, he traded Karen the book for the kid and then he sat on a rocking chair.  
"Goodnight moon" Karen read out loud the title "This looks nice, when did you get it" she asked full of curiosity.  
Fitz hesitated a bit before he answered, he was wondering if he should just lie "Olivia got it for me" he decided to tell the truth. He waited in silence for Karen's reaction. Teddy just looked at both of them unable to understand what was going on.  
"That was thoughtful" she finally said.  
They had avoided talking about his and Mellie's infidelities since she had moved there. It was a tough subject and he didn't know how to go about it.  
"Dad, will you tell me the truth sometime, like everything that went on with you and mom and Olivia… and uncle Andrew, it doesn't have to be now, but can we talk about it sometime?"  
"Yeah, we can, I'll tell you everything" he replied  
"Ok, I will go see if our dinner is ready, I hope he goes to sleep soon" She gave him a small smile before leaving the room.  
Fitz was surprised to see how mature her reaction was, and realized she really did have the right to know everything if he wanted their relationship to actually be better. He knew it wouldn't be easy but it had to be done.  
He started reading the book to Teddy and he slowly started to doze off, at the end he was almost fully asleep. He thought it was unbelievable how much she could help him even when she was not there. He put Teddy on his crib and left the room quietly, then he went to find Karen. She was sitting at the table already.  
"Hey kiddo, I've been thinking about talking to you about… well… everything, but I didn't know if you wanted to, I want us to have that conversation as soon as possible, but I have a meeting tonight, is tomorrow ok for you?" He asked her  
"It's ok dad, I can wait until tomorrow" she replied  
They stayed quiet for a few minutes poking at the food until she broke the silence to ask him if the book had worked. After that the conversation flowed easily and they enjoyed their meal together.

* * *

David arrived at the White House just in time. He was so nervous about carrying the files with him that he was sweating bullets. Fitz met him at the spot of the white house where the employees go in. He walked David to one of the spots he knew there were no cameras. They were both quiet. David was still really nervous. When they got to the place, it seemed like a storage room with a couple of chairs. They each grabbed one and sat down close to each other.  
"So, what it it that you need to tell me, you know, I went through a lot of trouble for this so it better be serious" Fitz told David  
"Believe me, it is" He said. Then he took a deep breath before he began telling the whole story.  
"When Jake Ballard decided to leave with Olivia he sent me a bunch of boxes with a note that said "go get the bad guys", I opened one of the boxes and I found b613 filed inside it. As you remember, Olivia and her team attempted to dismantle b613, but it couldn't stay that way because of Olivia's mom, but now he gave me all this and I don't know what to do with it."  
Fitz took a moment o take it all in before he started asking questions  
"This is serious, may I ask why didn't you want Cyrus to know" he inquired  
"He has done questionable things before, he knew about the bomb before Ballard told you, and decided no to tell, I guess he was trying to get rid of your competition" he said nervously  
"That was not ok, but it didn't end up so bad, and I think he was about to tell me when Ballard walked in" Fitz told him "I get what you are saying David, but as you remember, getting rid of b613 is too dangerous for the country, that is why I put Olivia's dad back in there" He explained  
"Yes I know, but you don't understand, he is a criminal. He has used his position for his own benefit, he has killed for personal reasons and…" Rosen stopped himself, he wasn't sure how to go on.  
"And what Rosen, spit it out" Fitz demanded  
"There's a really big chance he was the one who planned your son's murder." he finally got out.  
Fitz felt like he had been punched in the gut with a truck. He put that man back on charge to get the person responsible for Jerry's death.  
"What are you… how do you… you said big chance.. you can's say something like that to me without being sure" He managed to say  
"Remember Harrison, he used to work with Olivia"  
"Yes, Abby said he had left"  
"Well he left if he was lucky but there's a chance he is death. He called me after you gave his job back to command. He told me Rowan planned everything, so he could get his job back, get revenge from his wife, and get Olivia to leave. Harrison told me she made him promise he wouldn't hurt you, and that she wanted you to win the election, and that your son was the price to pay for it. He said that you took his child so he took yours" David talked fast trying to get everything out. "And on top of all he got your trust"  
Fitz was completely shocked, he couldn't believe the evil on that man, he was to blame for losing his son and the love of his life. He had given him all of his power back. He just sat there looking at nothing for a while trying to process what he heard, but he couldn't wrap his head around it. David was afraid to say anything so he just stayed there quiet, waiting for Fitz to come around. After a rather long time he finally spoke.  
"I guess we do have to get him, but you know what he is capable of, and we can't make b613 public, it would put the country in danger, it would cause chaos, people would loose their confidence in us. It could ruin everything" he said with despair.  
"But maybe if we work hard enough, we could look through all the files and find a way to arrest him without dragging the entire organization with him, there are just so many things, some that I don't even understand, and we probably need to dig even more. There has to be a way" David pleaded.  
"Well, I guess we have a lot to do, I am going to get some safe phones, so hmm… come tomorrow again, same time. If you don't mind, I need to be alone right now" Fitz got up from and walked out. He walked in a zombie like state back to the residence, he crawled into bed and a few minutes later he started crying, he had been barely keeping it together since Olivia left but what he heard was just too much. After a long time exhaustion took over and he finally fell asleep.

* * *

Olivia sat in the corner of the room, waiting. It had been a rough day. She had been lowering the dosage of sedative all day, and it was finally all gone. She was nervous, about what would happen once he fully woke.

He had been in and out of consciousness for what seemed like forever, he wanted to run or hide, but he didn't have the strength to do so. All he could remember was feeling sick, and drugged. Unfamiliar faces around him. Slowly he was finally waking up and he saw her. Olivia was right in front of him, for a minute he thought she was there to help him, but she was just sitting there watching him. He tried to move but there where restraints on his wrists and ankles. All he wanted to do was scream and run away but he couldn't. All he had left to do was demand an explanation.  
"What the hell are you doing to me!" he said as loud as he could  
"Please calm down, I can explain" Olivia said on a low voice  
"You kidnapped me, and I was sick and now I'm tied down, what kind of sick joke is this?!" he now yelled, he was finally feeling like he got some strength. He tugged on his restraints but it was no use.  
"Calm down, just let me explain" Olivia pleaded "We had to make it look real"  
"Make what look real?" He asked a bit calmer  
"Your death"

_**AN2: So... Let me know what you think, please review :)**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**AN: So sorry it took me so long to update, I tried to finish this earlier but school is crazy and life is just so hard sometimes. I will try my best to get the next chapter up in the during the weekend. Hope you guys enjoy :)**_

Fitz woke up early in the morning, before his alarm went off, he felt confused and disoriented, but the events of the previous night slowly started to come back. He got up to take a shower, and see if it helped. Fitz let the water run down his body for a long time, he still felt like he had been run over by a bus. His will power to stay away from alcohol was gone, so after showering he went straight for the bottle of scotch he kept in his room. Fitz poured himself a glass, no ice, and downed it like it was water, he was going for a second glass, but just as he was about to pour it, someone knocked on his door.  
"Yes" he said said with dread, thinking it was Cyrus  
"It's me" he heard the voice of his daughter, his attitude changed almost immediately, he put he bottle away and went for the door.  
"Good morning sweetheart, what may I do for you" he asked his Karen.  
"Well, it's just that… I'm not feeling well, so I came to ask you If I can stay home today" she told him "I promise I'll catch up on the work" she added quickly.  
Fitz reached her forehead with his hand to see if she had a fever.  
"That's fine, would you like me to call a doctor?, your forehead feels a bit warm" he said with concern.  
"I'm sure it's nothing serious, I just need some rest" she assured him. "And I'll stay away from Teddy, just to be sure he doesn't get it"  
"Ok, but if you feel worse or just change your mind just tell me" Fitz told her.  
She gave him a kiss on the cheek and turned to leave, but she saw Teddy's nanny walking toward them looking worried.  
"Mr. President, sir, Teddy has a high fever, and he's been coughing a lot, I just called the doctor" She said  
"I guess that ship has sailed" he said to Karen "Well if the doctor is coming anyway, let him check on you, make sure you are ok" he added  
"Ms. Hensley thanks for letting me know about Teddy, come find me when the doctor gets here" Fitz told the nanny.  
"Go rest honey, I'll tell the doctor to go with you"  
Karen nodded and went to her room, and Ms. Hensley went back to Teddy. Fitz almost laughed seeing how his day had started. It seemed like he couldn't catch a break, first he finds out he was played by Rowan, and that his son was murdered for some twisted "eye for an eye" thing, now his two other kids were sick, and his chief of staff had completely lost his moral compass. It would be a long day at work, and being honest with himself, he feared the meeting with David.  
Huck arrived to DC at 9am, and he went straight to OPA. Abby was already there reading the paper and taking her coffee.  
"Hi Abby" Huck said in a low voice standing at the door of the conference room  
"Huck, you are here! finally, are you ok?" She said in a rush  
"Yes, I'm fine, how is everything here?" He inquired  
"We are ok, not much work really, actually just one client, but it's a big one" she told Huck "Mr. President is getting a divorce, and he wants us to handle it, so it's good to have you back" she added  
"Ok, just let me know what you need"  
"Now that you mention it, I do need something, it's not really about work"  
Huck nodded for her to go on  
"David, he is hiding something from me, and well you remember, last time that happened he almost got killed" Abby said worried "Could you please find out?" She asked Huck  
"Ok, I'm on it" He replied and left to his office. However, Huck knew already what David was hiding, Jake told Olivia about the files. What he needed to find out, was what David planned on doing with them, to make sure he didn't screw everything up.  
All he had to do was check the security feed of Abby's place and follow Rosen out, the next part was trickier, because he had to try and trace his whereabouts through the streets to find where he went. Luckily for him, David was not really an expert on being stealth and Huck figured out where he was headed pretty fast. He went straight for near White House cameras and found him. What he wasn't sure about, was if he had gone to Fitz or Cyrus. He decided to follow him that day and see if he went back, and crash his meeting. Olivia told him to only help if it was Fitz, if it was Cyrus he had to get to Fitz and make sure David didn't get killed.  
He went to check if David was at his office to start tailing him. After he made sure he was occupied with his actual job he went to get food. He was about to take a bite of him burger when his phone rang, his Olivia phone.  
"Lucy" He answered "Is everything ok"  
"Hmm, yes, I think, kind of" she stammered  
"You are making me worry" He said seriously  
"Don't… It's just that, I tried to talk to him yesterday but he got very upset and he was having a panic attack, so I gave him a sedative,one of the strong ones and he's been out since last night" she explained  
"He will be fine, but you can't keep giving him those, the more he has them, the worse it will be to get him rid of them" huck answered "Just wait for him to come around again, and give it some time, let him try to calm on his own, he can't harm you or himself, he's tied down"  
"Ok, I will try again after he wakes up again" Olivia told him  
"Once he's calm enough, you can try and feed him some anti-anxiety pills, they won't put him out, but they will help" Huck instructed her.  
"Thank you, I will call you if anything happens" She said  
"Ok" Huck ended the call and went back to his food, he had to stay on top of things there, the sooner they fixed everything, the sooner she would be able to come out of hiding.  
Fitz arrived at his office a bit late that morning because he waited for the doctor to check on both of his kids. He said it was just a cold, and to say Fitz was relieved was an understatement. He made sure they both got their medicine, and put one of the house workers on Karen duty for the day before going to work.  
Cyrus was already waiting for him when he got to the oval.  
"I thought you were going to take the day off sir, after all it's not like you have an important job" Cyrus said sarcastically  
"Shut up Cy, my kids are sick, and I wanted to make sure they were going to be ok before I came here" Fitz replied  
Cyrus was going to say something mean again but decided against it, considering what happened, it made sense he worried so much. He simply told him they had to get to work already. Fitz was still not sure about confronting Cyrus on the bomb situation yet, he didn't know how he would react, and he had a lot on his plate at the moment.

After a few hours of barely any work, Cyrus decided call it a day, Fitz was so distracted he might as well not be there.  
"Earth to Fitz" Cyrus said to get Fitz attention  
"Right, the budget" He answered  
"We were done with the budget a while ago" Cyrus told him. "You are not even here, you should just go home, I just need you to sign some papers"  
"Are you sure" Fits asked  
"Yes, you are of no use to me like this, I can handle the rest of the day by myself, just go"  
"If you say so" Fitz said reluctantly, of course he wanted to go, but he didn't want to neglect his job.  
Fitz signed the papers Cyrus gave him and he left, he went directly to the residence and checked on Teddy first. Ms. Hensley said he was taking a nap, that he had been upset earlier but the meds kicked in and he started feeling better. Then he went to check on Karen, she was watching tv, she seemed to be doing fine.  
"Hi dad, I dint expect to see you now" Karen said to him  
"Well, it seems I was too distracted to get any work done and Cyrus sent me home" he said with a smirk. "Would you like me to hang out with you, or should I leave you to rest?" he asked  
"It's fine you can stay" she replied "Actually, remember you promised to tell me about, well you know… It would be ok if we talked now, I don't have much to do"  
Fitz took a deep breath, and thought about it for a minute. He took a sit on a recliner that was next to her bed. He realized that was a good moment, he wouldn't go back to work, his meeting with David was until later and Karen was home a lot earlier than usual.  
"You are right, why don't you tell me where do you want me to start" he told Karen.  
"First of all… Do you love her dad? Do you really love Olivia?" she inquired  
"Yes, I do love her, I love her with all of my heart, she is the love of my life, I know this might be hard to hear, but you did ask for the truth" he answered honestly  
"That's alright dad, I do want the truth, so did you actually cheat on mom with that other employee?"  
"No, that was a scam, so Olivia would be off the hook I guess"  
"When did you start your… relationship with Olivia"  
Fitz appreciated the choice of words, he hated his relationship to called an affair  
"During the campaign"  
Karen took a moment to digest that, his father had been in love with another woman for a very long time, his brother had been conceived while her dad loved someone else.  
"Then why did you stay married to mom all this time, like I'm pretty sure you had problems before Olivia, or you wouldn't have cheated, why stay married, like I'm not a baby, I know you had to stay married until you were president, but why not divorce her until now" she asked a bit exasperated.  
"Because I am a big coward, because I let other people decide for me" he paused to gather his thoughts.  
"After the first scandal, I wanted to, but Olivia said she couldn't let me loose my presidency and she made the whole pregnancy plan with your mom, and after she announced it there was no going back, but lets just leave something clear, I love your brother however it happened he is my son and I'm happy to have him" Fitz explained  
"After I got shot, I realized life was too short to stay in a loveless marriage, so I decided it was time to get a divorce, your mother didn't take it well, she induced early labor and then some things happened, I had a fall out with Olivia and figured I might as well stay married"  
"Mom induced labor just to manipulate you!" Karen said with shock. Fitz realized he had said a little too much.  
"Yeah, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that" He cursed in his head for not being more careful. Karen took a deep breath to calm down, she still wanted to know many things.  
"What things happened, I mean if you love her so much, what could make you want to stay married to mom?"  
Fitz felt cornered, but he wasn't sure if he should tell Karen about defiance. He decided to tell her the truth, after all he had promised, and she was old enough to understand.  
"Look sweetheart, what I'm going to tell you is very serious, you can't tell a soul do you promise" he told her  
She nodded and held out her pinky. Fitz chuckled and complied to the pinky swear ritual.  
"During the campaign, I was barely above Reston in some places, and one of our main backers suggested rigging the election, there was this town in Ohio, that could decide the election. At first no one wanted to, but after a while, Verna, Cy, and your mom, thought it was my only chance, Olivia didn't want them to, but in the end they got to her and she agreed. They rigged the voting machines on that town and I won. When I found out, I felt betrayed, but I guess it was something I could expect from your mom and Cyrus, but feeling betrayed by Olivia just killed me, thinking that she didn't think I was good enough to win on my own… I couldn't handle it, I was blinded by rage" he explained.  
Karen was in utter shock. From all the things that went through her head, she never imagined his dad's election had been fixed. He decided to use his daughters silence to keep talking.  
"I said some very hurtful things to Olivia, I almost lost her forever, but I managed to get her back, that's when your mother announced I had cheated. At the time we also had a bit of a crisis with the whole election rigging thing, it almost came out and Olivia's team did everything to fix it, even things they probably shouldn't have. We had it all planned, how we would get together after the divorce, but she said she couldn't just turn her back on her team and that I had a second chance and being president free of any trouble, with your mom" he stopped for a moment thinking about everything they went through. "But like I said before, I was a coward and let others decide for me. So I stayed married"  
They both stayed quiet for a while, it was a lot of information for Karen to take in, and knew knew there was more she needed to know, but she finally realized, her dad's life was way more complicated than she thought, and it was enough information for one day.  
"That was enlightening" she finally said "I know theres more dad because I know some things happened after mom made that announcement, it has been a while. However I think that was enough for now"  
Fitz looked at her with guilt, it wasn't fair for a 14-year-old to be dealing with such things, to have such messed up parents.  
"I'm sorry" he apologized  
"It's ok dad, believe me, I rather know everything, it's better than just knowing there is trouble, but having no idea really, and mainly I wanted to know because I wanted to understand why you guys stepped out on your marriage. I really didn't want to hate Olivia or Andrew. He was always nice to us, and Olivia was great with us during the campaign, she seemed to care about us, so it was hard to hear mom insult her and thinking that she wasn't a good person" Karen was finally coming out h¡of her shock and she was glad to know the truth, both her parents had made mistakes, but at least she didn't feel like she had to hate Liv anymore, and if she got back together with her father at some point she would be ok with it. Fitz was completely impressed by the maturity his daughter was displaying, he couldn't feel more proud of her. They were both quiet again so he cleared his throat to break the silence.  
"What do you say we do something completely unimportant to recover from this?" he suggested.  
"We could binge watch Friends" she told him  
"Friends, wow didn't think you liked that show, you were 4 when it ended" he said surprised  
"Yeah but there are re runs everywhere, it's a great show"  
"Well then, Friends it is"  
Their afternoon was uneventful, just what they both needed considering everything. He was dreading his meeting with David, he still was not sure how they would manage to get Rowan without putting the country in danger, so many things could go wrong he didn't even know when to start. He couldn't help thinking that Olivia would know what to do, she could do anything better than anyone, he missed her more than ever.

_**AN2: I decided Karen is 14 because they say she is younger, but they look the same age and no one ever said for sure. I know I am being mean with all the secrecy, just be patient a bit more and you will find out what's going on. Please review, I love reading them, I really want to know what you guys think. **_


	7. Chapter 7

_**AN: Finally chapter 7, I swear I tried to get it sooner, but I mean I'm only a few minutes past sunday; but seriously whatever god, deity or superior being you believe in, ask them to help me cause for real, I can't catch a break. Anyway, thanks for reading, I am deeply greatful for all of you. Hope you guys enjoy :)**_

Olivia paced the room impatiently, he was beginning to stir, it wouldn't be much longer until he woke up again. She had to be strong, and just wait for him to calm down, he couldn't really hurt her or go anywhere. There was much explaining to do, he just had to listen and things would hopefully be better. It would suck if she had to keep him tied down for the entire time they stayed there.  
He began mumbling, and she got ready for another round of yelling. This time though she decided to stand as close to him as she could, so maybe she could hold his hand or something to help him calm down. A part of her understood why he was so upset, being tied down, medicated, he had a freaking catheter for fluid removal and he was feed liquids through his veins, anyone would get upset.  
He finally opened his eyes, he was trying hard to focus, and get rid of the fog in his brains, he moved his arms just to check if he was still tied, and realized he was. He waited a few "minutes until he could think more clearly before he tried to say anything. He moved his head and found her standing close to the bed, he locked eyes with her, she looked worried.  
"Why am I here? Why are you doing this to me?!" he said in a groggy voice.  
"I can explain everything, but please don't get upset"  
"Not get upset!" he said older now "Do you see me now, how can you ask me to not get upset!"  
"Please" she pleaded  
"Just… how could you do this, we trusted you… My father trusted you!" he said, desperation clear in his voice.  
"Jerry please, I swear I never meant to hurt you, I was trying to save your life" She said louder, trying to get his attention. "I can explain everything"

_

Fitz had dinner with Karen and Teddy in her room, he went to get him after his nap and they all ate there while watching tv. Both kids fell asleep a while later, so he left Karen's room and took Teddy to his. He went to his room to change into something more comfortable and to retrieve the phone he was giving David later.  
Huck stayed outside David's office almost all day, he figured the meeting would be at night again. When David left for the night he went to his place instead of Abby's, Huck decided to approach him there so they could go see the president together. He parked a few blocks away and walked to his apartment. He rang the doorbell. He heard noise behind the door, then the door opened slightly.  
"Huck, I didn't expect to see you, if you are looking for Abby, she is not here" David said in a rush.  
"I am here to go with you to your meeting" Huck told him.  
"Look if Abby put you up for this, it's really not necessary, so you should go"  
"This is not for Abby, and I know what you are doing, and who you are meeting, I know about the papers" Huck said as he put his hand on the door, pushing a little to prevent David from closing it.  
"But.. Why do you… I mean How" David uttered nervously.  
"I suggest you let me in, unless you want someone to hear us"  
David nodded and let Huck in reluctantly. He took a sit on the couch, some of the papers were out already and he was packing them on his suitcase.  
"Did Jake tell you?" David asked.  
"He told Olivia" Huck replied "So I'm here to help"  
David opened his mouth to interrupt, but Huck held out a hand to stop him and kept talking.  
"I know more about our enemy than you and you new ally"  
David was going to ask how he knew, but there was no point, and being honest with himself, Huck could really help them. He took a deep breath before he spoke.  
"So you are coming with me" he said  
"Yes" Huck replied.  
"Ok then, we leave in a few minutes"

_

Jerry had calmed down after about half an hour. Olivia was scared, but Huck had told her it was normal for him to be so upset, coming off the meds after a such a long time would take it's toll on him. So she just sat there waiting for a chance to talk to him. After pulling on his restraints and screaming for a while he stayed quiet just looking at the ceiling.  
"Does my father know?" he finally spoke.  
"No, no one from your family knows, just me, and three other people" Olivia told him.  
"Why?" He asked  
"Because if they knew, the plan wouldn't have worked out, and maybe one of them could've gotten hurt, or he could have tried with you again" Olivia explained.  
"He could have tried again, who are you talking about?" He asked  
Olivia didn't know if she should tell the truth already, he could get all riled up again, but she figured it was better if that happened while he was still tied up.  
"My father" she answered in a low voice.  
Jerry heard her answer, but it made no sense to him, why would her father want to hurt him, he had never heard her mention her father, or anyone from her family before. How was she saying she didn't want to hurt him, but her father did, he was very confused.  
"I don't understand" Jerry said.  
"It's a very long story, could you please try to stay calm so I can tell you?" she asked him.  
"Fine, I will try" he replied.

Huck and David arrived at the white house together. David thought there might be a problem with Huck, but he was allowed in without problem, Olivia had asked Fitz to get him security clearance before she left. David was even more nervous than the previous night, he didn't know how Fitz would react to Huck, and he was carrying more dangerous files. Instead of meting Fitz on the way to the meeting place, this time he was told to go there directly, when he arrived Fitz was already there nursing a glass of scotch.  
"David" he acknowledged David, but then his eyes went to Huck, and immediately remembered Olivia asking him to clear Huck to enter the white house. A million things went through his head, but the most important one was that if Huck was there it meant Olivia sent him.  
"Huck, right? Did Olivia sent you? Does she know this? Is she ok? Is she in danger?" He fired the questions at Huck.  
"Well… It's kinda yes to all you said" huck answered. Fitz began to panic at the part of her being in danger.  
"She did told me to find David, because she does know about the files… and she is not in immediate danger, she might be at some point if we don't figure this out" he explained.  
Fitz was about to start firing questions at Huck again, but Huck talked again before he could.  
"I will not answer any more questions regarding Olivia, it's in everyones best interest."  
Fitz knew enough about Huck to realize he would get nothing out of him, David just looked at them confused, the whole situation was worse than when he lived at OPA.  
"So… gentlemen, I guess we should get down to business" Fitz spoke and both the other guys sat down with him, David on a chair and Huck on a crate, since his presence was not expected.  
They started going through the files, those were mostly about some shady missions command had planned, they didn't really seem to be in benefit of the nation. David looked completely terrified by the things he was reading, Fitz was a bit taken aback, but Huck didn't even flinch, he actually recognized a few things.  
They worked mostly in silence and separated the parts that indicated Rowan had been working for some other benefit, rather than protecting the republic.

"So you are telling me, you dad runs the top secret spy organization of the country?"  
Olivia nodded  
"And he planned to kill me as some sick revenge against my dad for dating you"  
She nodded again  
"And Tom, secret service agent Tom, one the guys my dad trusts the most, is a traitor son of a bitch who almost killed me"  
Olivia nodded again, despite the slight discomfort she got from hearing him use rather strong language, he was 15, but she still remembered the little 11-year-old sweet kid during the campaign.  
"So you decided to fake my death, so your dad would forget about the whole thing, and you could plot against him" he continued  
"And your mom is a terrorist, who was blamed for my death, so your father could be the boss of command, and my dad was totally played… by everyone" he concluded  
Olivia sighed and nodded again.  
"I know it's a lot to take in, but i swear all I wanted was to save your life, and to end my dad's reign of terror once and for all" she told him.  
"Now you understand why we had to take you like this?" she asked Jerry  
"I guess I do, but it's hard you know, to just trust what you are telling me it's true , how do I know you didn't went completely bonkers, and just faked my death because you lost your mind!" he said, confusion and fear all over his face.  
"Yeah, but why would I do that, it doesn't make sense" she tried to reason with him.  
"I guess you are right, but still, why can't my dad fix this without me being dead" he said exasperated "You make it sound like he has more power than my dad"  
"He doesn't have more power, just different, everything you father does is official and goes on record, but what my father does, well he can get away with almost anything"  
"Like killing me" Jerry told her  
"Yes"  
"And I thought my parents were messed up" he said with a smirk.  
"Look I am really tired, maybe we should continue in the morning, I rather be well rested when I take all of your wires out" Olivia spoke calmly, trying to avoid another tantrum.  
"You mean the needles on my veins and the tube on my junk" he said bitterly. "I'm not really sleepy, cause you know it's all I've been doing, but if you are tired I guess it's better for me if you rest"  
"Hey, hmm I took this from your room at the white house before I left, I thought you might like to have it" she said as she took and ipod from a table in the room.  
"Could you at least untie my hands so I can use it?" he asked "It's not like I can go anywhere without hurting myself in the process"  
She thought about it for a moment, and then walked to the bed to untie his hands, he stretched his arms around and tried to sit up, only to realize he was tied from his midsection.  
"Really? you wouldn't untie my hands, even though I can't even sit up" he said annoyed.  
"I'm sorry, but you seem to still be doubtful about all these, and we can't risk it, also what if you fall asleep and she you wake up you panic again" She said trying to soothe him.  
He considered it for a moment, and then he thought she was probably right, if he woke up and tried to run before he remembered, things would be pretty bad.  
"Fine" he finally said "Will you tell me the rest tomorrow? And will I be able to eat actual food?" he asked  
"Yes you will eat tomorrow, and I will tell you everything" Olivia replied  
"Even about you and dad?" he inquired  
"Yes, even about me and your father" Olivia answered.  
She left the room after that and went to bed right away, she was exhausted, but she was also relieved. They still had a long way to go, but things went better than she had expected. At least he was not nearly comatose anymore and she just had to make sure he understood the severity of the problem, she just hoped the guys in DC could fix everything soon.

_**AN2: So, it was Jerry all along, next chapter will have the very complicated explanation of how they faked his death, you might find it a little far fetched, but so is the show most of the time. Please review, I love reading them, I really want to know what you guys think. Also if you want to tell me something whatever through some other way you can find me on tumblr as alexandra-castlekarevtribbiani **_


	8. Chapter 8

_**AN: Behold chapter 8. Sorry it took so long to update, school is crazy, I should actually be doing school stuff now, but I really wnated to get this out. I did a fair amount of research for the medical stuff even though it's not that much, I guess it's the part of me that almost went to med school. Thanks for reading, really it means a lot to me :)**_

Fitz woke up on zombie mode, Teddy had been waking up all night and he insisted on taking care of him. He was dreading talking to Cyrus about the files, and he was also thinking he had to get the rest of Olivia's team in with the plan; after all it was just two people, and he knew that even if more people knowing was risky, they needed the help of people they could trust. The previous night, he had agreed with Huck and David to use his divorce as a cover for them going so much to the White House, and David would have to watch from the sidelines during the day because he had his job and it would be weird if he suddenly just decided to be a gladiator full time. They had found it would be harder than they thought to get to command. He had a lot of people loyal to him, in and out of b613, they had to act very cautiously to get the people from outside down, but without anything involving Rowan or b613 so he wouldn't catch them. As for the people inside it was a whole different story. They were going to work their butts off to solve everything as soon as possible, he was desperately hoping that after they did, Olivia would finally come back to him.  
Fitz stretched in bed and finally mustered the strength to get up. He got in the shower to get ready for work, after he was done getting dressed he went to get breakfast. He found Karen already there, but still in her pajamas.  
"Not school today either huh?" he said to his daughter as he approached her. He placed a gentle kiss on her head before taking a sit next to her.  
"No, I'm still not feeling so good" she replied with a faint smile.  
"That's ok, just get better" he reached for her hand and gave it a soft squeeze. "I have to catch up on work today though, or Cy will have another heart attack, but call me if you need anything".  
She nodded at him and continued eating her cereal. The had breakfast mostly in silence, he ate fast and left for the office. Cyrus was waiting for him already.  
"Morning sir, you look like crap" Cyrus greeted him  
"Well, thank you, I spent the night taking care of my ill toddler" he answered. "Hey, Cy, there is something I need to talk to you about, and also I want to call Olivia's team, we can't let that matter go unattended, time goes by quite fast and and don't want it blowing up in my face. Mellie is already moving her stuff out of the residence"  
"I suppose you are right, and fire away what do you need to talk about?" he inquired  
"Hmm not here, come on" Fitz got up from the couch and headed outside the oval, he knew a place right outside where there were no cameras.  
"Sir, we need to get to work, can't this wait?"  
"No, this is actually very serious, and it can't wait"  
Cyrus saw how serious Fitz was, and he rarely saw him that way, he figured they might as well get it over with so thy could work. Fitz had decided there was not time like the present, and he wanted to get Cyrus on board so they could start planning with the gladiators later that day.

_

Olivia got up early that morning and showered to make sure she was awake; she got herself ready to face Jerry and fix everything that needed fixing. She was wearing comfortable clothes, she got her hair up in a ponytail and gathered the needed supplies. As she approached the door of his room she tensed up, fearing he could throw another tantrum, but she she opened the door she found him asleep. She walked up to him and touched his shoulder to wake him.  
"Hey, good morning" she said softly. He opened his eyes and adjusted to the light, when he finally registered his surroundings he moved a little too fast and tried to sit up, Olivia got a bit startled and took a step back; then everything came back to him at once and he settle back on the bed.  
"I'm sorry, I guess you were right to leave me tied up" he said through gritted teeth.  
"I wanted to let you sleep, but I figured you would want to start getting rid of all the wires as soon as possible" she told him.  
"Yeah you are right about that, so how do we proceed?" he asked  
"I am going to remove the needles from your arms, then the other one" she said awkwardly  
"Ok, better get it done cause I am seriously starving" Jerry told her  
Olivia had many of the things she needed int he room already, like trays, containers, bags, and also a fridge with the different drugs and the feeding solution. She went to the bathroom and washed her hands thoroughly, she had sterilized towels and had placed them in sterile bags like in a hospital, so she could use them to dry her hands. She had all she needed on a table by the bed, she put on gloves and started unhooking the tubes from the solution bags. Once she was done she discarded the gloves she was wearing and put on new ones, then she started working on his left arm.  
"Ok, now I'm going to get the cannula out" she began to explain.  
"I don't need to know the details, just do what you need to do" he told her.  
Olivia nodded and continued with her task in silence. She was nervous, because she was no medical professional, but she had payed close attention to Huck and Kim, and also she had spent every single moment of all her newfound free time, reading medical books. She removed the cannula of his left arm without problem, he did felt some pain, but pushed through it. Olivia cleaned the site and applied antibiotic ointment on it, along with sterile gauze, before placing a waterproof dessing over it.  
"I will remove the one in your right arm now"  
He just nodded and turned his head the other way. Olivia proceeded almost the same way as the other arm, the difference was that they only used that arm for drugs, not feeding so it wasn't so delicate. She also put a waterproof dressing over it just in case. Before she went ahead and removed the urinary catheter, she grabbed something from the table and held it in front of him.  
"What is that?" he asked, even though he had a pretty good idea what it was.  
"It's just that, you have been using the catheter for a little while, and it takes the body some time to adjust" she explained  
"You want me to wear a diaper" he said, annoyance clear in his voice.  
"Just for a few days, to avoid any accidents, until you adjust"  
"Fine, whatever, it's not like I'm going out or anything"  
"Ok, so now I will have to" Olivia began to explain again but Jerry interrupted her.  
"No explaining please" he asked her again  
She had changed her gloves already and had moved the table to be near her, she pulled down the bed rail and removed the blanket. He finally saw there was a tube coming out of under his gown and the strap he had across his midsection, as well as the ones on his ankles. Olivia got closer and pulled the gown up all the way to the belly. She started wiping around with cotton and antibacterial solution. She cut the valve off the balloon port of the catheter and waited for the water to drip out, once that happened it means the balloon inside the bladder has deflated. She started pulling the catheter out afterwards. He winced, because it hurt a little and it was very uncomfortable, Olivia tried to be as gentle as possible while pulling it out. When she finally did, bolt of them let out a breath they didn't know they were holding. She finished cleaning the area and then threw away all the medical waste.  
"Is that it?" Jerry asked her  
"Yes, but there are still a few things I need to tell you" she replied  
"Ok, but can you untie me now? and could we do it while eating?" he said to her hoping she'd agree. "You have to a lest get my feet free to put on the diaper"  
Olivia nodded to him and went to free his feet from the straps, then she started sliding the diaper up his legs.  
"Whoa there, I thought I would get to do that" he exclaimed  
"Maybe the next one, but I can't let you do any effort for now" Olivia continued pulling the diaper up until it was in it's place. Then she started taking the strap of his midsection away, he was surprised, but she just figured there was no point in keeping it if he was to start living "normally" again.  
"Just wait here, I will go get you something to eat"  
"Wait, no" She turned around waiting for him to continue "I just… I'm kinda sick of this bed, could I please come with you and eat somewhere else?"  
She knew he had a point, but she was afraid of getting him out of bed because he was going to be weak for a while and she had just unhooked him, but he looked so scared and sad, she decided to take a the risk.  
"Ok, but you have to be aware that you are going to feel weak and tired for a while, I am going to help you out of the bed and to go tot he living room" He nodded and she got closer to the bed to help him sit up. She pushed one of the buttons and the bed started bending to have him in a sitting position, then she pushed another one and lowered the bed. Jerry started moving his legs and realized what she was saying, it was taking a huge effort for him to do it, he was sitting up and he had to move his whole body to get out of bed; she knew what was going on and grabbed both of his legs and slowly pulled them on the side of the bed. Then she put her arm around his midsection and told him to put his right arm around her shoulders. His feet were almost touching the ground since she had lowered the bed, Olivia realized he had no shoes and went to find his slippers, she put them on his feet and started to get him up again. Once he was on his feet he got really dizzy and nearly fell back to the bed, but she was holding him tight.  
"Are you ok Jerry?"  
"Yeah, just, you were right, I do feel weak"  
"Ok, lets just take it slowly"  
She started moving very slowly and he moved his feet. Each step was small and he felt like he was running a marathon. The house wasn't too big, and huck turned the office/tv room into Jerry's hospital room downstairs; they made it to the living room after a while, and she helped him sit down on the couch. He was feeling very dizzy and tired. Olivia went to find a blanket and placed it on his legs, then she went back to the room and came back with a zip up hoodie. She helped him put it on. Once he was settled she walked to the kitchen and go a yogurt and a spoon and gave them to him. He looked at it and a smile threatened to appear.  
"Strawberry cheesecake flavor, it's my favorite" he said happily  
"I know, your dad told me. Lets see how you feel eating that and then we see about more food"  
"How about, you start telling me how the heck this happened while I enjoy my yogurt"  
She sighed and started thinking where to begin, she decided it was best to start with how they found out.  
"Your dad made this plan to take down command, and put someone else on the job, and it seemed to have worked, but I knew my dad too well so it just seemed weird to me that he was so easily defeated so I had Huck keep an eye on him"

_

_Three weeks before_  
_Huck walked into Olivia's office with a very concerned expression on his face. He paced the room a little bit, before he calmed and stood in front of her desk._  
_"He is going to do something Olivia, something bad" he finally said. Olivia knew who he was talking about and gave him her undivided attention._  
_"You know SSA Tom, he is dirty, he is one of us, I came here to ask you for permission to interrogate him" _  
_"Tom! I think that is crazy, and you know we could get in so much trouble, he is Fitz' closest guys" she answered shocked, but then it hit her, who was better to spill to his father that the man Fitz trusted the most; also she knew Huck was rarely ever wrong. She brought her hands to her face and stayed like that for a while, trying to decide what to do._  
_"Huck, are you sure about this?" he nodded "What do you suspect he is planning?"_  
_"I think he wants to hurt someone from his family, since hurting the president would be too complicated" Huck explained._  
_"Ok, do what you have to do"_

_Huck got to Tom on his free day, he used his special skills on him until he spilled. Tom told him command had everything planned all along, that he had orders to kill Jerry with meningitis on his dad's last meet. Tom knew Huck was b613 too, he told him there was no way to go against command, that he would just get rid of him and find a different way to kill Jerry. Command had been plotting for a while, to take revenge on Fitz, and guilt Olivia into leaving him, and that the whole deal with her mother had actually turned out to be useful for him, since she would be the one blamed for it. Huck decided to call Olivia and figure something out with her. Olivia got there and had to try her best to ignore the evidence of Huck's interrogation methods, when she arrived Tom was already dressed and looking unharmed while tied to a chair._  
_"Your dad is going to kill Jerry Grant" Huck told her "He says, if we do anything, he will end up dead and your father will just find some other way to torture the president" he said to her pointing at Tom. "He is right Liv, your dad always gets what he wants."_  
_Olivia's head was going a thousand miles a minute, there had to be a way for them to save Jerry and still keep her dad pleased._  
_"What if he does succeed" both men turned to look at her like she had grown another head. "What if we make him think he succeeded" she cleared_  
_"You mean like faking it" Tom said._  
_"I suppose we could do it, but you know, he can't know" he said about Fitz "He has to think his son is dead, or your father will know."_  
_Olivia looked at him feeling panic, she would have to put Fitz through the worse pain a parent can experience, but it was better than the option of him losing his son for real._  
_"Also, you know that if he doesn't know, we can't just steal the boy, and also it would be near impossible to cheat the doctors cause it's the presidents kid, they will be extra careful"_  
_"What are you saying?" Olivia asked him confused._  
_"He means, someone else has to die, there has to be a body" Tom piped in._  
_Olivia was beginning to panic, she found it so wrong to just take someone else's life, even if it was for the child of the love of her life. Tom started thinking on how to make her come to terms with it, the truth was that he never wanted to be traitor, but you can't say no to command; he thought maybe he did have a chance at redemption after all._  
_"We could find someone on b613 kill list that could pass for Jerry" he suggested_  
_"Height, hair and eye color, body type… oh and also blood type, I guess it's possible" Huck added._  
_Olivia was just standing there unable to utter a single sound, maybe they weren't planning on killing an innocent citizen, but still, they had no right. She knew that someone on commands list wasn't necessarily a bad guy._  
_"Liv, I know you don't agree with this, but it's the only way we can save him, and keep command at bay" Huck told her "He has to believe his planned worked"_  
_"He already knows you want to bring down b613, he will let you do it so you can't get your mom and he can blame her for Jerry's death, then you will feel guilty and finally leave Fitz, and he will volunteer to catch her and have Fitz give him back his power officially" Tom explained to her. She stayed quiet a while longer trying to decide hat to do, it was just a little too much for her to handle._  
_"You are saying that, we have to keep going as if nothing had happened, even with our plans, and then kill someone to save Jerry, and I have to leave so he thinks he succeeded" She finally spoke._  
_"We also have to make Jerry sick with something, because he is supposed to collapse in public" Tom added_  
_"On top of all, we do have to risk Jerry's life" Tom simply nodded. Olivia was losing it with that plan, but she tried to calm down and think clearly. She knew the reason she was panicking, was because part of her had already agreed to the plan. She loved Fitz, and she couldn't let her father murder his son._  
_"All cylinders go people, we have a lot to do" she voiced feeling defeated._

_They all went back to their lives, while also getting their plan on track. They had to fire out where to keep the sick Jerry until he could travel, and find the patsy. They didn't have much time and also couldn't trust more people to help. Finding the patsy was easier than she thought, and it didn't matter he wasn't like a lost twin because meningitis that strong caused severe swelling so his face would be unrecognizable once the symptoms worsened. They still needed someone else to help, to play a paramedic in the ambulance they would use for the switch, but it couldn't be any of them. Tom found the solution for that, there was a guy, Parker, that was b613 and on command's death row. He made a mistake on a mission while Jake was in charge, and he gave Parker another chance, but that was unacceptable to Rowan. Tom still had to do jobs besides betraying Fitz, because Rowan didn't want any of his agents to loose the hang of it; he approached the guy who was to kill Parker and traded him the job he had saying it was personal. Those things happened so the other guy went his merry way without questions. Tom told Parker he would spare his life if he helped him, no questions asked, and then disappeared forever. _  
_They seemed to be on the right path, Olivia would pick Jerry's outfit, that way they would know just what to put on the patsy, she made sure to know what Jerry kept in his pockets so every detail would be taken care of. Their real breakthrough though, was when Huck read the file on his wife and learned that she had become a nurse. If Kim agreed to help them it would solve a huge problem, she was trustworthy, no one would think she'd help them, and she had was a healthcare professional. _

_When the day came they had everything planned, Huck would hijack the ambulance he knew had to respond to a call from Tom, just before the call was made. He would give the paramedics a nice shot of midazolam. Midazolam served two purposes, it would knock them out until their ambulance was returned to them and they would forget any events that happened an hour prior to the hijack or even more if they were sensitive to the drug. It was a beautiful thing called anterograde amnesia._  
_It seemed like luck was on their side that day, Rowan got stabbed, meaning he wouldn't be breathing on Tom's neck about his plan. It was hard on Olivia, but it did make their plan easier to carry out. Tom got a very strong type of pneumonia for Jerry, along with the appropriate antibiotics to treat it. Huck tricked the patsy into thinking he was part of some plan against b613, he had to cooperate, any bruising, or drugs would show up at the hospital and it would make it possible for them to realize it wasn't Jerry. _  
_Huck waited with him near the ambulance, they got the paramedics together, when he was in the ambulance with him he was given the shot of meningitis. When he was unconscious Huck changed his clothes. and drove to the event, he picked parker up along the way. Tom insisted to be the one going not the ambulance._  
_"Sir please, he can't go without a detail, and neither can you, and the space in here is limited" Tom pleaded with Fitz. "It's for the safety of both of you, someone could try and take advantage of the situation, I can take care of him"_  
_Fitz finally agreed, also he wanted to be there for both Karen and Mellie, they were both really shaken up._  
_Once in the ambulance Tom started giving Jerry the antibiotics and then they switched him with the patsy. Parker and Tom both did everything according to procedure to "save" the life of the other guy. They arrived at the hospital and carried the gurney in side. The doctors took over; the swelling was really bad on his chest and face; his limbs had a bad rash, there was no way to tell if that was not actually Jerry Grant, and there was no reason to think it wasn't. He was pronounced dead._  
_Huck and Parker left immediately, they put the paramedics back in their ambulance and erased the entry of the call. They put Jerry on an SUV, and before he left he administered a dose of Midazolam to Parker. Since he didn't know what the mission was about before, he wouldn't remember Jerry or anything; all he would know was that there had been a plan and he had to leave to save his ass._  
_Huck took Jerry over to Kim, they had set up all they needed on her basement. She placed a central line on him and made sure he got all the drugs he needed. Huck left him with her and left to avoid suspicions. Jerry's care was in Kim's hands now, and the best he could do was stay away. Olivia carried on Like nothing had happened, Fitz put her father back on b613, he would get her mother and she had to leave. She made Jake believe they were leaving together so he would spill b613 secrets, it was Huck's idea. After ditching Jake she would stay with Fitz, until Jerry was well enough to be transferred to their safe house in Louisiana._

Present day

Jerry looked at Olivia in utter shock. It was way to much to process, he just couldn't believe how all that had happened. Both of them stayed quite for a long time, he was doing his best to process what had happened.  
"I got pneumonia?" he asked  
"Yes, you did"  
"That's why I remember feeling so sick"  
She nodded "That's why you actually still have to take antibiotics, and we have to be very careful with your health"  
"Someone had to die so I could live"  
Olivia nodded again, that was the worse part of their plan, she still had trouble with it.  
"Why did you do all this, I mean, your father is a nut job, you and your friend, you guys are risking your lives for me" Jerry said.  
"Because I love your father more than anything and he loves you, I would have never been able to look him in the eye again knowing I did nothing to prevent your death" Olivia explained. She left out that she also did it because she still hoped they could be together and be a family, and if Fitz was her family, so were his kids.  
He nodded and pondered about his next word, he had decided to trust Olivia, aside from dating his father, she had always been a stand up person, and she seemed to really care for him and his dad.  
"Ok, I will trust you, and wait for all this to blow over, so I can be with my family again"  
Olivia smiled at him and took his hand, she was thankful it seemed like her life with Jerry was not going to be so difficult.  
"Now I need to tell you about the special care you need now" Jerry nodes and smiled at her. "You need to be really careful with you arms and not do much of an effort with them, you veins took a hit with those IVs and we don't want you to form clots. You also have to be careful with your chest, a central line had to be placed, because you can't be fed through your arm veins for too long, the catheter in your chest was placed by Huck's wife, but she removed it before the trip, that one is far more delicate and It would've been to risky for em to remove it. I already told you about the diapers, so I think that's it" she explained "And also the fact that you will be feeling weak for a while, but you are young so you'll get your strength back"  
"Did I loose weight?" he looked down at his body.  
"Yeah, like 15 pounds"  
"Guess I have to eat up" he said with exaggerated cheer. "How about we eat, and talk about serious things later, I think this was enough for now"  
Olivia smiled at him and went to the kitchen again. She started cooking up some things for breakfast, like toast and oatmeal. He hadn't had any solid food for days so he had to take it easy, cause even being careful there was a big chance of him throwing up or getting diarrhea. Olivia was still really worried, he was basically like her son at the moment, she was fully responsible for him; but at least they were finally getting along.

_**AN2: Like I said in the**_ **_previous chapter, this seems far fetched, but most things are on this show. Seriously, I researched meningitis, it takes at least like 3 days to get you dying it it's severe and you can still make it with proper care. _**

**_Also I decided to make Kim a nurse cause I wanted to make it believable _**_**within the habilities of the people involved; Jerry's condition was serious, so I didn't want to make his treatment to simple, and Olivia is no healthcare professional so there were things that she wouldn't be able to do. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed, and I will write as fast as I can to get the next one.**_  
_**Please review I love reading them, I wan to know what you guys think.**_

_**You are also free to PM me or use tumblr or smoke signals if you want to talk to me about anything :)**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**AN: Here's chapter 8, again sorry for taking so long to update, I swear I'm doing my best. Things seem to be going slow, but they have to be extra careful when it comes to command; he was way too many allies that could make things bad for the good guys even if he was killed, so they have to make sure they get them all. I decided to call the plan Operation down with Command, which is what ODC is short for. Fitz won't be able to keep his cool about Olivia leaving for too much longer and it will cause troble, what do you guys think he will do? Anyway, enjoy :)**_

After a week, Jerry was getting a lot better, he hadn't gained weight yet, but he didn't feel sick when he moved anymore, and his incontinence was starting to go away. Olivia had been feeding him toast, oatmeal, yogurt and soup the entire week; she gave him small pieces of chicken, but that was about it. He wanted to stuff his face on other stuff like cheeseburgers and pizza, but he knew it was a bad idea. On the first day she only gave him the yogurt and some toast for breakfast and he was kinda mad, until a little while later when it came out the same way it went in; he realized he had to take it easy. Jerry's digestive system was having a tough time adjusting, so he was taking vitamins to help his health, he had to keep the dairy consumption low the first couple of days, but then he started keeping food in for longer. Olivia told him that he would start drinking nutritional shakes once he was more stable, to help his weight and his health in general, he had lost count of all the pills he had to take, there were antibiotics, the vitamins, and the ones to protect his stomach from the strain of the antibiotics, it was a mess but things were finally starting to get better.  
Olivia walked into his room early in the morning to help him get to the living room so they could eat, but when she walked in he was already getting up.  
"What are you doing" she rushed to him.  
"Im getting up from bed, I'm ok" he told her.  
She looked at him apprehensively, she was just worried he could fall, or put to much strain on his arm veins if he made too much effort, or that he could relapse and get all weak again. He saw the fear in her eyes and sat back on the bed.  
"Liv please, I feel a lot better, and you need to take a breath, you don't even sleep cause you have to help me every time I get up, even to get a glass of water or go pee. I have to start moving on my own so you can rest a little, it won't do us any good if you get sick, we would be in big trouble" he tried to convince her.  
"I just want you to recover without issues, there is no rush, and I am in great shape, you have to take your time" Olivia replied.  
"Yes but also I have to start doing things so my body gets the hang of it" Olivia looked at him with the same expression on her face, she didn't seem to be changing her mind. "What if you just let me go to the bathroom all by myself and then you can help me to the living room" Jerry said on his last attempt to get some control on his life.  
"Fine, I'll wait for you outside of the bathroom… and let you walk there" she conceded.  
Jerry smiled at her and got up from the bed again he walked slowly to the bathroom and came out a few minutes later, she helped him get to the living room and they sat on the couch. They had all their meals there because Huck didn't buy a dining set, and she didn't want him sitting on the kitchen island, since the stools were high and she was afraid he could loose his balance and fall.  
"Since you have gotten a lot better I figured you could eat something a bit tastier this morning, so I'm making scrambled eggs" She said smiling.  
"With bacon?" he asked hopefully  
"No, sorry, no bacon yet"  
"Maybe some butter with my toast?" he tried again.  
"Hmm, I don't think so, maybe tomorrow, lets see how it goes with the eggs"  
Jerry was disappointed, but at least he got a tomorrow on the butter, it was better than nothing. He understood why she was doing it, but it was still hard.  
They both enjoyed their breakfast and talked about meaningless things, they had been watching a lot of television together so they chatted about the shows. Jerry hadn't asked to talk about Olivia and Fitz' relationship, or how operation down with command was going, he was mainly trying to get the most of the situation.

* * *

Fitz was pacing in the oval impatiently, his divorce would be final in about a week so it was time to announce it, he was going on a press conference soon, Olivia's team was there and it was all set. He mainly felt nervous because their time to sort out operation down with command was running out; after his divorce was final they only needed to be there for a month tops to monitor his situation with the public, but after that people would be getting over it already and they kept going everyday to the white house for so many hours, command could get suspicious. Fitz felt like they were getting nowhere, despite all their work. They had developed a system in which they talked about ODC on divorce and public image code while trading info on paper only; the cameras were not sharp enough so anyone could read what was on the paper and they were careful to slip them between polls and articles. Command asked Tom for footage and saw nothing worth his attention so he disposed of them without a second look; after a few days of boring shots he started asking Tom for less tapes, and not everyday, just to keep an eye on the guy, since he considered there was no threat. Huck already had a neat list of people who needed to be taken down, but they needed to wait, once they started arresting or terminating people, their timer would start running out on the command bomb, they had to plan out every detail so he wouldn't have time to get away.  
Cyrus had been shocked when Fitz confronted him about the bomb, and told him about ODC, he was scared, but realized Fitz was not backing down and that it needed to be done, after all it was because of b613 that he lost James. He was on board with everything and even helped Fitz with explaining the whole situation to Olivia's team. That morning Cyrus walked into the oval and found Fitz pacing like a mad man.  
"Sir, are you ok?" he asked  
"Just nervous about telling everyone about the divorce" Fits replied. Cyrus knew it was not the divorce what was upsetting him, but with the cameras, he just went with it.  
"Don't worry sir, everything will be fixed soon" Fitz knew Cyrus wasn't talking about his divorce. It was funny how they had reached such a deep level of understanding and communication in the last few days. He nodded to Cyrus.  
"Well sir, your soon to be ex-wife is ready, we better get going, you are going live soon" Cyrus told Fitz, and walked to the door.  
Olivia and Jerry were done eating and stayed in the living room to watch some tv. She turned it on, and it was on the news channel, she was about to change it when she heard "Coming right up, the President of the United States live from the White House". They looked at each other with matching puzzled expressions. The tv host said that the president had some big announcement he wanted to make so they were cutting to a live feed. The anchor came on and said they were waiting for him to come out.  
"Anytime now the President will come out and we will finally find out what is this all about" The anchor spoke. A couple of minutes later the president was announced and the camera focused on the spot he would take. He came out, and right behind him Mellie walked in. The room was silent, Fitz cleared his throat, he looked at Mellie and then he started talking.  
"Good morning fellow americans, it is with a heavy heart that we announce, the first lady and I are getting a divorce, now before anything else, you should all know that this will not affect my job in any way. I am still the same man you voted for and I will keep doing what is best for this country" Fitz spoke with determination  
"As most of you know, we have had some problems in the past and we did our best to sort them out, but we came to the realization that it was best for us to part ways." Mellie added.  
"We decided what was best for us and our family, we will always care for each other and have each other's back, but we can't stay married without risking hurting each other or doing something we could regret." Fitz spoke again  
"We would really appreciate for all of you to respect our decision, and refrain from attacking us or saying anything that could hurt our children. This is a private family matter and we would like to keep it that way" Mellie continued.  
"Thank you all for coming and for listening to us, have a good day" With that Fitz finished the conference and left the room. The press was dumbfounded, they wanted to ask so many questions, but he oft before they could. The different anchors went back to the studio to discuss the news further.  
Olivia and Jerry sat there in the same state of shock as the journalists in the White House. Neither on them said anything for several minutes. Olivia muted the television and just sat there trying to process what had just happened.  
"Well it was about time" It was Jerry who broke the silence

* * *

Fitz and Mellie went to meet the gladiators after their announcement. They were all in a conference room watching. They were already working on gathering intel of peoples opinion on the matter when Fitz, Mellie, and Cyrus walked in. Mellie hadn't really participation in any of it before, but after making it public they needed to do interviews so she had to work with them too, just be there sometimes, if she was with them all the time, they wouldn't be able to work on ODC.  
"So, how did we do?" Fitz walked to his chair and took a sit. Mellie sat at the opposite end of the table.  
"I think it went good, you guys seemed to be a united front even facing separation, I'm glad it was decided the using of a plural pronoun when starting all your sentences, makes it easier for the public to digest it" Abby answered him.  
"How are those polls looking?" Cyrus asked.  
"They are not looking so great, but I'm sure we can turn it around with the interviews, and turning focus on your job and your parenting" It was Quinn who answered that one, she was in charge of the polls, and the social media was being watched by Huck, as long as he wasn't needed elsewhere.  
"Social media has very hmm… different opinions" Huck started "Some people say it was about time she left you, considering your… adultery issue, some others say they don't care as long as you do your job, the are also some saying you are a total… butthole, for leaving your wife after she had the kindness to forgive you, and there are also many people saying that sometimes when couples have issues, the loss of a child can draw the last straw on an already fragile relationship" he finished talking and pit his face down again to his computer screen.  
"So are they like justifying our divorce with my son's death" Fitz voiced incredulous.  
"Yeah I kinda saw that one coming, we gotta be really careful on how we handle that, we don't want people thinking this is just some crisis that will go away, and that after you go through with it they still hope to see you back together" Abby said.  
"I was hoping we wouldn't have to go there anymore" Fitz said, sadness clear in his voice. "It's bad enough I won the election because of it"  
They were all silent in the room, all of them knew it was true what Fitz had just said, but they didn't expect him to mention it and in such a blunt way. Cyrus decided to take the reigns on that one.  
"Sir, that is why you guys need to clear this is something that was coming before you lost your son, so they stop using it as a reason for everything" Fitz turned to look at Cyrus with pain written all over his face, talking about the death of his son was almost unbearable for him, he felt like he was reliving it every time it was mentioned. Mellie simply sat with her head down, waiting for interactions, discussing Jerry's death wasn't easy for her either, and it made the guilt even worse when people treated her like the poor loving mother who lost her child, when really she had been such a bad mother to him.

They worked on the divorce issue until they gave Mellie what she needed so she could leave. Fitz wanted to leave too, he felt like crap, but the command thing was way too important so he pushed through it, getting Olivia back was the only thing that kept him going most of the time, not even getting justice for Jerry, he simply thought that getting command wouldn't bring his son back, but her, it was possible.

* * *

Olivia was brought out of her shock after Jerry's words on his parents divorce. She nearly laughed at his reaction. He just told her after, that he never understood how stayed together when it was clear that not only they didn't love each other, but they didn't even like each other. Olivia was relieved to see how he took it, she was fighting it for Jerry's sake, but she just wanted to be happy about it. She couldn't help thinking that if things got fixed, they could finally be together.  
"You are being awfully quiet Liv, what do think about all this" Jerry inquired, and just as if had read her mind he continued "You know, it's fine if you are happy about it, it's not like I don't know about you guys, and you did say you love him"  
"I do love him Jerry, with all of my heart" She said after a long sigh "But I don't know what gonna happen, even if they manage to get my dad"  
"I really hope they do, it's not that I don't you, but I'm not looking forward to living with you for the rest of my life" He chuckled.  
"I understand" she said smiling at him "Let's say my dad is no longer a problem and all this comes out, do you think your dad will forgive me for what I put him through?" She voiced with concern.  
"But you saved me" Jerry told her.  
"Yeah, but he doesn't know that, you didn't see him, he is suffering so much, I just feel he is going to resent me for potting behind his back and causing him so much pain" She said in the verge of tears.  
"Look, my dad is a smart guy, I'm sure he will see the big picture, but even if he doesn't at first, he will come around, he will realize you did what you thought was best, and what matters is that I'm alive" Jerry tried to console her. She looked at him like she didn't really believe it, a few tears were already coming down her cheeks. Jerry reached for her hand.  
"It will be ok, I'll even put a good word for you, I won't even tell him you tied me up" he said with a smirk. That actually made Olivia smile. "And I'm sure he loves you just as much as you love him"  
Jerry didn't know much about his fathers relationship with Olivia, he still needed to have that conversation with her, but he knew they loved each other, Fitz had told him that after their barely saved interview, and he also told Jerry he'd tell him the whole truth some other time, but he would have to hear it from Liv.

_**AN2: I just realized that considering the timing of the season finale, which is when I'm putting the story, it was almost time for summer vacation so I guess it's a good thing Karen didn't change schools after her incident ;). Anyway, I guess it was not necessary for her to go back to school after moving to the White House since she basically would only go for like 3 weeks and missed days on grieving and being sick, but what's done it's done, so she'll just be on vacation now and we'll see how Fitz deals with that.**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**AN: Here's chapter 10. So... what do you guys think about that season premiere? Honestly I'm having lots of trouble with the whole Jake thing, and it's not only him I dislike right now. I just don't understand how could she just leave and have a good time, chillin' at the beach when the love of her life is in so much pain (he freking tried to kill himself), don't get me wrong I love Olivia, but I find some of her actions a bit questionable. Also I now have mixed feelings about Mellie I think the writers did a good job on her this time, anyway hope you guys enjoy :)**_

Jake sat outside a low end bar on a shady part of Nassau, he was almost passed out drunk, and high on some cheap stuff he could get his hands on. The fear of command drove him mad and he used the drugs and the alcohol to escape from it. He had started doing jobs for the local criminal boss to make sure he didn't run out of money to get the drugs, and they also made it easier for him to get them.  
For a moment he thought about leaving the Bahamas, but then he thought that if command knew he would realize sooner that something was wrong, so he decided not to risk it and stayed there; it didn't really make him feel much safer, since that way command knew just where to find him but at least he seemed to know nothing yet, and Jake was giving him no reason to look into things.

* * *

After a long week of interviews and more press conferences, his divorce was final, and to say he was relieved was an understatement. All of her belongings had been moved out of the residence already, some went to the blair house with her and some went into storage. Mellie was moving to Boston in a couple of days and she'd be out of his life at last. They would only see each other occasionally for the kids, and if she wanted to go into politics he would support her, but that was it.  
The problem was, that Fitz didn't feel as happy as he thought he would after finally divorcing Mellie, he was still mourning for his son, and Olivia was gone. He couldn't wait to tell her that he was free, and that they could finally have the life they both wanted.  
It was wednesday afternoon and just couldn't wait for the week to be over, Karen was already out of school, so he was taking her and Teddy to Camp David for a few days. At first Cyrus complained about him going away for longer than the weekend, but Abby told them it looked good that he was taking the time to be with his children after the divorce, and people would love it. Fitz didn't really do it to look good, but al long as everyone was ok with his plans he would go with it.  
After a while of not being able to work Fitz decided he had to do something about Olivia, it was killing him to just sit there and wait so he called Tom into his office, he thought he was the only one he could trust to help him.  
"Tom, I need you to do me a favor" Fitz told him  
"Of course sir, what do you need?" Tom asked him.  
"I need you to look into the logs of people leaving the country around the time Olivia left, I need to know where she is" Fitz explained.  
"Ok sir, I'll do it right away" Tom cursed in his head, this was just not good, because he would have to tell command about it, he still needed to keep doing his job to him, otherwise, their whole operation would be compromised. He had to tell Huck about it so he could do something to get Fitz to stop looking into Olivia. He left the oval and went to find Huck.  
"Huck" Tom said in a low voice.  
"Do you need something?" Huck asked  
"He asked me to look into Olivia, to know where she went"  
"And you have to tell command or you are screwed along with all of this" Huck said, Tom just nodded. "I will have a plan in case it's needed, but for now, I think we are fine, it makes sense that if The Boy is in the dark about commands plan he will try to find her". Huck added, the had started to use The Boy as Fitz codename, he actually suggested it, as a way to mock the stuff Rowan said to him.  
Tom nodded again and went to do the job Fitz had asked, he didn't really need to look for it, but he had to make it look like he knew nothing for the sake of everyone involved. He called command to let him know what had happened. After he got the information he went back to report to Fitz. He knocked on his office door and Fitz told him to come in.  
"Did you find her?" Fitz asked.  
"Yes sir, she took a flight to Nassau at night on the day she left" He dropped some papers on Fitz' desk.  
"Nassau" Fitz said in a low voice, he was thinking to sign a little further, to find where she was living and to take air force one to go there and get her back. A part of him told him it was a bad idea, since command was still free, but another part of him just couldn't wait to see her again. He also thought that maybe he could just visit her and see how she was or go there on a pretend family vacation and try to see her. Nothing permanent until they had command.  
"Thanks Tom, you can go now, I will let you know if I need anything else" Fitz told him, and he left the office. Fitz sat there thinking about what to do about the things he had just found out when his phone brought him back to reality. He answered without checking the caller.  
"Hello" He said  
"Mr President" a deep voice came from the phone and he recognized it immediately.  
"What can I help you with?" He said sharply  
"Nothing really, I actually called to help you" Rowan replied  
"Is that so?"  
"You see, I know you are looking for my daughter, but you should save your energy Fitzgerald, she is not interested, and now that you are divorced you can go get some rich bimbo to stand by your side, leave Olivia alone"  
"I don't know what you are talking about" Fitz said, anger clear in his voice  
"She's got Ballard now, back off, and if you don't believe me go check who left for Nassau a week before she did" Rowan hung up the phone right after.  
Fitz was livid, he couldn't believe the nerve of that man, but he also needed to know if what he said was true, if Olivia was with Jake. He kept telling himself Rowan only said it to rile him up, but he had to know.  
"TOM" He yelled. Tom came running into his office.  
"Sir"  
"I need you to see if Jake Ballard left for Nassau a week before she did, and also use your contacts to know if both of them stayed there" Fitz ordered him  
Tom nodded and left the office in a hurry, he went to find Huck right away.  
"It's bad now" He said to Huck "Command told him about Jake and now he wants me to find out if he is in Nassau too"  
"I got this" Huck replied "You go do what he asked and tell command he succeeded again"

* * *

Huck went to one of the safe places he had in the white house and dialed Olivia's number. She was making dinner for her and Jerry, they were celebrating he was getting rid of the diapers, he had gotten much better, gained a few pounds and he could almost eat like a normal teenager again. She was making baked potatoes and salad, they were going to eat steak, but she wasn't sure she could get it right so she ordered it from a local restaurant. She only had to put on her Lucy costume and make sure Jerry could not be spotted from the door. She had also ordered groceries, Huck had left her many things but vegetables had to be bought fresh. Jerry had finally been allowed to sit on the kitchen island and he was watching her cook. When her burner phone rang, they both exchanged worried looks, they knew that if that phone rang, it had to be from DC.  
"Hello" she said anxiously.  
"Lucy, we have a situation" Huck said  
"What is it Randy?" Huck and decided he needed a code name too just in case.  
"The Boy got desperate and looked you up, he found out and told him about the weasel, The Boy thinks you are with him and he is not handling it well" Huck explained.  
Olivia held onto the edge of the sink to keep her balance, she had a bad feeling this was coming after it was announced he was officially divorced.  
"What can we do?" she asked  
"You have to call him, I will arrange it, tonight, before we meet with Rosen" Huck told her.  
"No, I… I can't, what if… it could make it worse" She stammered  
"You have to, just assure him you are not with the weasel, if he hears it from you he will believe it, if we don't get him under control, the whole ODC would be compromised"  
"Fine, I will do it you are right" she said  
"Wait for my call, I will change phone after this, it phone number 4 you have the number, and you change phone too" He said good bye and ended the call. Olivia was a bit shaken after it.  
"Is everything ok" Jerry asked her  
"Yes… No… it's going to be ok"  
"Can you tell me what happened" he pressed.  
"Your dad tried to find me, he thinks I'm in Nassau, and my dad told him I'm with Jake, since he actually is in Nassau, your dad thinks I'm with him" Olivia explained "If your dad goes all crazy with this, my dad could find out everything"  
"And we would be screwed" Jerry added  
"Yes. that's why I will talk to him later to make sure everything stays under control"  
"So this Jake guy, you mentioned he thought he was leaving with you, and that he was b613 too, but was he like your friend or did you date him?" Jerry inquired.  
"I did date him, briefly, big mistake. He was friends with your dad, from the navy, he was supposed to be watching after me, but he went the extra mile" Olivia said  
"So you and dad, you guys were not together like the whole time since you met?" Jerry asked  
"No, we've had our fair share of trouble, but that's one of the biggest ones" Olivia replied "We were apart for a long time, we both did things we regret" She continued preparing dinner.  
"Care to elaborate?"  
"He found out about something that I did, we did, your mother, Cyrus, and a couple of other people, he was really angry and he felt betrayed so he ended things… badly" Olivia explained, as she went to retrieve the steaks from the oven, where had put them to keep them warm.  
"That's vague" he stated  
"Sorry, it's just that, it's very serious, and I'm not sure I should tell you" Olivia told him  
"More serious than faking my death? I think I can handle it, I swear I won't tell a soul, it's not like I can talk to anyone besides you anyway"  
"Fine just…" She sighed "We rigged your father's election, but he didn't know, it wasn't his fault" She finally told him.  
Jerry was quite shocked, he never thought his dad's presidency wasn't legit, he understood why he got so mad, they had actually done something terrible behind his back, and knowing his dad, he would have never agreed to it. Olivia explained the whole defiance thing to Jerry, leaving Verna's assisted death out; she told him his dad was so mad he said very hurtful things to her, and that they were apart for a very long time.  
"I know it was wrong, but I started having doubts and it was all up to me, everyone else had agreed, and I gave in"  
"Did he ever try to divorce my mom before" He asked after a little while. Olivia was thankful that he moved on from defiance, she had already fixed the plates and they were eating.  
"Yeah, see, the first time we broke up it was because I didn't want him to be a cheater anymore so I stopped working for him and left, he took it baldy and had an affair with someone else, after we got past that he wanted to, but there was a situation so I gave your mother the idea of saying they were so happy, she was pregnant, I just couldn't let him throw everything away for me" Olivia spoke in a low voice. "That was not ok for me to do, don't get me wrong, your baby brother is a blessing, but it's not ok to go around making choices for other people" she continued "We got your father cornered on that one, and being the noble hearted man that he is, he decided to go with it instead of trying to fight it and dragging us all through the mud" Jerry nodded and kept eating, when she didn't keep on talking he looked up at her expectantly. She took the hint and went on.  
"After he got shot, he decided life was too short to not do what he wanted, he almost did it before the defiance fall out, but Mellie induced labor so he had to wait, then everything went wrong. The last one was after we buried defiance, we got together, you mother went on national television to say he was a cheater. We were going to fight it all, but I couldn't just leave my team hanging after all they did to fix defiance, it wasn't right so I told him to go back to your mother… and he did"  
Jerry had stopped eating after he heard of his mother putting the life of his baby brother at risk, just to keep her position as first lady.  
"She induced labor just to keep my dad?" he said with a mix of anger and confusion. Olivia realized that she should have left that out. She nodded. "Unbelievable"  
"Yes, but your brother had no issues whatsoever, and that's what matters" Olivia said in an attempt to make him feel better.  
"That woman is a piece of work"  
"She is your mom"  
"Still, who does that?" Jerry exclaimed, he tried to compose himself so he could continue eating, and Olivia would keep on talking. "Anyway, what happened after that, when he got back to her, cause I know you guys were together we he was getting reelected"  
"Yeah, we were like on and off for a bit there, he was being kind of… rude" Olivia tried to explain.  
"Rude, really? You can call him what you want I don't mind, just don't try to sugarcoat it makes me feel stupid" Olivia smiled at that.  
"Yeah I guess he was being kind of an idiot, the whole being together but not was really getting to us, then we almost got back together, I was going to work on his reelection campaign, but I found that he… he shot down the plane where my mom supposedly died" She paused for a moment gathering her thoughts. "I was so mad, but it wasn't really his fault, and he couldn't really talk about it, after all he got his orders and it was a matter of national security. He really wanted to fix things between us, so he showed me how serious he was about us despite everything, we got out everything we ha been holding and we kind of got back together, until I left for all of this"  
"What do you mean he showed you how serious it was? It's not code for like…" he said with a disgusted expression on his face, regretting his decision to ask.  
"What… oh no, no, he hmm… he showed me a house he had built for us when it seemed we were going to make it" She of course left out everything else they did.  
"A house wow, that's romantic" Jerry said "So that's the story, thanks I guess" he said as he played with the food on his plate. "You guys really have gone through a lot"  
"Anything else you would like to know?" She asked him, she wanted to get all his questions answered already to avoid further awkward situations.  
"So my dad won this election fair and square" Olivia nodded "You think my death had anything to do with it?" Jerry was a smart kid and he remembered how his dad said that was it for him, he remembered talking about it with his dad and telling him he was sorry he was going to loose.  
"Yeah, it had a lot to do with your dad's reelection, he deserved it but politics are a mess" Olivia explained "That's the other reason why I think your dad is not going to forgive me so easy, I wanted him to win this election all by his own, and he had made peace with losing, he wanted to do things right, and I took that away again"  
"Yeah, but you didn't do it for the election, that was just collateral damage, you did it to protect me and my family" he told her "We will explain it to him, I'm sure everything will be fine at some point"  
"Thank you" Olivia told Jerry  
"For what?"  
"For trusting me, for being ok with me and your dad, and for trying to make me feel better"  
"Well, it's the least I could do for the person who risked so much to save me, and also, you've always been nice to me, you paid more attention to me and my sister during the campaign than our own mother, so I figured… If you tell me you saved me from your evil parents and you are only trying to protect us so the monster can be caged, I believe you, we kinda only have each other now"

_**AN2: So things are looking better for Jerry, let's hope the guys in DC get the monster in his cage soon. Olivia is really worried about her future with Fitz once everyhting is fixed what do you think will happen? Thank you all for you follows, favorites and reviews they make very happy. Please share your thoughts, not only for this, but I would like to know what you think of the show too, feel free say anything, agree or disagree, it keeps things interesting :).**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**AN: Finally chpater 11, and that phone call. We are getting closer to taking down command once and for all, so Olivia and Jerry will finally be able to come out of hiding. Thanks for reading, I will try to update soon, hope you guys enjoy :)**_

Olivia was pacing the living room impatiently, it was already time for Fitz' call and she was really nervous, she was worried about saying the wrong thing and making things worse, or not being able to stay strong through the call when she heard him. She wanted Jerry to leave the room but he refused, he said it was the closest he would be to his dad in a while, and that also he would be there in case she needed support.  
"We are going to have to replace the floor if you keep that up" Jerry sat in one of the couches just looking at her going back and forth in the same space.  
"I'm just really nervous, I haven't talked to your dad in a while and everything is so complicated right now" She tried to explain.  
"Just take a deep breath…" Jerry started trying to calm her, but in that moment her phone rang, it was go time. With shaky fingers she answered and brought the phone to her ear. She heard breathing on the other end and she stayed quiet. Fitz heard her breathing too, but he was frozen on the spot, when he got to the meeting place Huck was waiting for him and put a burner phone in his hand and told him he had to talk to her. For a few minutes he just stared at Huck and the phone like he'd never seen them before, but then he finally reacted and asked huck the number to dial, Huck just told him she was 1 on speed dial. He took a deep breath before making the call he didn't know what to expect, he just wanted her to come back, but he had a feeling it wouldn't happen so soon. Both of them just heard each other breathe for a while unable to utter a single word.  
"Hi" she finally said. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, then he almost lost his balance so he found one of the chairs they had to prevent a fall.  
"Hi" he whispered once he was settled. Olivia took a deep breath, she decided she had to do most of the talking and clear things to keep everything under control.  
"Fitz… I… look, before anything, I need you to know that I am not with Jake, he was just a cover to keep my dad at bay, so he didn't go looking for me, I swear I am nowhere near him, but you have to stop looking please, just trust me" Olivia told him, trying to sound convincing.  
"I trust you ok, I really do, so if you say you are not with him I believe you, but Liv I just miss you so much, I feel so lost without you, and I'm worried about you all the time, why can't you just tell me where you are? I could protect you" he also tried to sound convincing.  
"Please, believe me when I tell you, I wan to be there with you, or see you somehow, but my father is way too dangerous, it would be too risky for everyone involved, it's better this way"  
"Can I at least talk to you more often?" he said feeling defeated. She paused before she answered, she didn't want to hurt him, but she couldn't say yes to his request either. When she didn't answer right way he knew what the answer would be.  
"I am sorry, but that can't happen either, I am so sorry, but I'm just trying to keep us safe" she was on the verge of tears. He felt bad, but he knew what he had to do, he had to work twice as hard to get rid of the monster so she could come back.  
"Liv I swear I will not rest until he is down for good, I need you to come back to me, we can be together now, we will be happy and do everything we always dreamed of, you will be my First Lady and we will be a family" Fitz couldn't hold the tears anymore and she could hear it in his voice "Just promise me you will come back, once everything is over, please"  
Olivia wanted to answer, but she started crying harder, there was nothing she wanted more than everything he just said, but she couldn't help thinking Fitz could change his mind once he found out about Jerry. "Liv, what's wrong" he voiced full of concern. Jerry reached for her hand, in an attempt to calm her so she could continue talking.  
"Yeah, I just love you so much, and I want everything you just said, I just hope we can still have it once this is all over" She told him. Fitz wasn't sure why she thought it may not happen.  
"Don't worry ok, the only thing standing between us is your father, and I will fix that, I promise" Fitz just thought maybe she was having trouble believing they could finally be happy after everything that had happened. "I love you"  
"I love you too" she muttered between tears.  
Both of them stayed quiet for a while just listening to their jagged breaths and quiet sobs, Huck told him it was time, he could see David was walking to the place already. Olivia was the one who ended the call after she heard Huck's voice, Fitz handed the phone back to him and he started taking it apart. David got there and realized something had happened, they were both more quiet than usual and the president was crying. He decided to stay out of it and just waited for Fitz to compose himself so they could get to work. Fitz cleared his throat and they all go down to business, they were on the verge of taking down a senator who was on commands side, they had found some rather compromising information about him, and completely unrelated to b613, that way they could get him to resign and then throw him in jail, without command getting suspicious.

* * *

Olivia sat next to Jerry still crying after she ended the call, he was still holding her hand, but he was clueless to anything else he could do to make her feel better. He stayed quiet for a while, until he decided to just break the silence.  
"What did he say, is everything ok?" He spoke softly  
"Yeah, he won't get us in trouble, it's just…" she didn't finish and just took her hand away from Jerry's to bury her face in her hands. He put his hand on her shoulder instead.  
"It's just what"  
"He told me that he wants us to be a family and have everything we dreamed for when all is fixed and I go back"  
"That's good right" Jerry said, not realizing what was bothering her so much.  
"Jerry, he says that now, but what about when he finds out about you, he will take it back and I don't think he'll want anything to do with me" She finally voiced her fears and looked up, she was truly upset and there wasn't much he could do.  
"We agreed we would fix it, I'm sure you guys can still be happy, if he doesn't want to listen to you, then he will have to listen to me until he gets it, I promise"  
Olivia looked at Jerry and couldn't help but see how much he resembled his father, he was a really good kid despite everything, and it meant the world to her that he was willing to stand up for her. It really gave her hope that one day things would be alright, that at least she had one of the Grants on her side.  
"You are right, we can still fix it" she finally smiled to him  
"You are gonna love the White House, I always wanted to live there, but mom wouldn't let us, now she will not be there and you will, you won't be shipping us off will you" he said half joking, half serious. She realized it was her turn to ease his mind, and make sure he knew she cared for them.  
"Never, it wouldn't be the same if the family is incomplete" she said with a reassuring smile.  
"Good, Karen may be a little hard to win over, but she will come around, and Teddy is just a baby, and he will finally get a real mom, I mean you are not actually, but he's a baby, I mean you will be the only mother he knows, even if you are not" Jerry rambled, he knew the circumstances in which Teddy was born, but it wasn't his fault.  
"Yes, it doesn't matter I didn't give birth to him, I will be his mother and love him just as if I had, blood has no business in that" hearing that made Jerry quite happy  
"Tell me about it" he said thinking of his mother never really caring for him.  
"And it doesn't only apply for toddlers" Olivia wanted to make sure he didn't feel like he had lost his chance at a mother just because he wasn't a little kid anymore. He was relieved to hear it, a part of him already knew, but it was always better to know for sure.  
"Well this was quite the evening, how about we get some ice cream and watch modern family, I recorded it" she said with exaggerated excitement.  
"Sounds good to me"

* * *

It was finally friday and Fitz would be leaving to Camp David with his children, it was also the day of their first hit on command's allies. Senator Wells was asked to step down from his job after his illegal activities were made public, command didn't really find it weird; from his allies he always thought Wells was too reckless and would eventually get caught. Rowan actually thought it was better the guy was caught before he did something that could affect b613.  
Their first hit was a success, but most of them would have to be made at the same time as Rowan's, since he would know something was up. Their next step was going after minor criminal collaborators of command, people he just kept available, but didn't really keep track of them; after them there were some agents with assignments that kept them of the grid and away from dc, by the time Rowan realized they were caught it would be too late. They were on a two-week timetable, if they took any longer, command would get wind of their plan and everything would be ruined. While Fitz was at Camp David, Huck would stay with the others working, he said it worked for them that Fitz left, it would reassure command that he was safe. Fitz left his office in the afternoon and went to the residence to get his kids.  
"Hey Karen, are you ready?" He asked upon entering the residence and finding his daughter on the living room with her bags, and holding Teddy.  
"Yep, we both are right buddy?" she said looking at her brother, he just smiled at both of them, Teddy was not talking much yet.  
"Ok, I will just go change and then we leave" Fitz left to get changed quickly. After he returned he got the agents to come in and take their luggage. Marine one was already waiting for them at the south lawn, once they were there Fitz finally allowed himself to relax a little and just enjoy the company of his two kids.

* * *

The next morning Olivia and Jerry slept in until noon, they had stayed up quite late watching tv, and they didn't really care, it wasn't like either of them had anything important to do. Jerry got up first and decided to attempt making breakfast, Olivia had been dong everything for him for almost a month and he thought it was time he did something for her. She went downstairs and found Jerry struggling with omelets and bacon.  
"You need help?" She asked Jerry  
"No, I'm ok, just sit there and relax" Olivia didn't really think she could just sit there and wait for him to burn himself.  
"Are you sure, you look like you are struggling there" She insisted  
"Yeah, I'm just a bit rusty, dad was teaching me how to cook, but my mom made him stop, she said that kids like us should be served always, and that it made no sense for him to teach us such menial things" he rushed to take some stripes of bacon from the pan before they ended up overcooked and then went back to flip an omelet. "But I still remember a few things"  
Olivia was still unsure about it, but she figured it might hurt his feelings if she tried to stop him and cook herself, she thought it could make him feel she didn't think he was capable of doing things.  
"Ok, I will get started on the juice and the toast" She went to find one of those frozen juice concentrates, and then she put a couple slices of bread on the toaster. He was almost finished with the bacon and the omelets so she also got the plates out and put the butter out too. Jerry served the omelets and a large portion of bacon on each plate and they both sat at the kitchen island. Jerry was looking at her expectantly, he wanted her to try it first, so he would know if he did a good job. She realized what was happening and took her first bite, she was expecting for it to be ok, but she was surprised when it turned out to be delicious.  
"This is really good Jerry" She said with a smile  
"Really?" he said ginning like a little kid with a new toy  
"Yeah, your dad must be a pretty good teacher"  
"He is, I'm glad it turned out well, I really wanted to do something for a change, cause you always do everything, like even my laundry, and yes I know I was sick, but I'm ok now, and I'm not a little kid, you shouldn't be doing everything" He explained.  
"I really appreciate this kiddo, but I don't mind doing everything, you are barely out of the woods, I just wanted you to recover without complications, there's no pressure I want you to be healthy and strong when you return to your family" Olivia told him  
"Liv, I feel great now, and I wont get sick from doing the dishes, my dad would actually like it if you make me into respectable young man who knows how to take care of himself and others, instead of just spoiling me rotten so I can be another rich brat like most kids I know" Jerry really wanted to stop being a load for her, and he actually thought it would be good, he wanted his dad to be proud of him, to see he hadn't been totally ruined by his mothers stupid parenting.  
"I guess you are right, we can talk about dividing the house chores later, right now lets just enjoy this great feast you prepared" Both of them continued eating and moved the conversation to tv shows, they spent most of their time watching tv and had bonded over it.

* * *

Fitz had woken up early and he got Teddy out of bed, a few minutes later Karen came out of her room and he decided to make breakfast himself instead of asking the staff to do it, he actually really enjoyed cooking, but barely ever had the time to do it.  
"I'm making breakfast today, what would you like" he asked his daughter  
"Hmm, I could it some waffles" she replied  
"Then waffles it is" He sat Teddy on his high chair and went to get all the necessary supplies to make waffles.  
"Hey dad" He turned to look at his daughter "Can I help you?" She asked Fitz, she remembered he tried to teach her and Jerry how to cook, but her mother had made him stop saying it was not appropriate, but she was no longer there to stop her.  
"Of course you can sweetheart, come on" He extended his arm to get her closer to him and kissed her head. He let go of her and started prepping the ingredients, he gave her a few tasks and they both worked together. Fitz looked at her all concentrated adding eggs to the blender so he stopped chopping fruit and took some flour in his hands and blew it on her head.  
"Dad, seriously, you are supposed to be the responsible one" she exclaimed  
"Yeah, but you just seemed so serious and I thought we should have some fun" he said laughing  
"Oh really" she said as she dug her hand into the flour container, immediately after, she threw it at him. A couple of minutes later they were having a full on food fight, chasing each other around the kitchen, Teddy just looked at both and laughed. Fitz went to grab Teddy form his chair so he could be part of the fun too.  
"Come on buddy, it's us guys against your sister" He said to the little boy  
"No fair dad, it's two against one"  
"He doesn't really count"  
"Yeah but you can totally use him as a shield"  
"I wouldn't do that" Fitz said pretending to be offended  
"We'll see about that" Karen told him as she reached for the chocolate syrup. Fitz braced himself and ducked his head behind Teddy to amuse Karen, then he went and grabbed the maple syrup and attacked her. By the time they were done, all three of them were covered in sugary goo, he put the toddler back in his chair and started cooking the waffles, they ate like that all dirty and sticky sitting on the kitchen stools. Its was the most fun he'd had in ages.

* * *

After an extended weekend of goofing around and probably getting all the staff to hate him Fitz went back to reality, it was tuesday night and after he made sure both Karen and Teddy were in bed he went to meet with Huck. Fitz went to their usual meeting place and he was already there waiting, and he looked concerned.  
"Is everything ok? Is there a problem with our plans?" Fitz asked  
"No, I hired some guys who do anything for money to go after command's boys out of town and it seems to be going well, it's something else" He paused for a minute waiting for Fitz to take a seat in front of him.  
"Then what is it?" Fitz asked again  
"Tom told me command made a call to Ballard, just to check on things, and he wasn't really reassured after the call" Huck began  
"What do you mean with not reassured, what did he say?" Fitz was getting worried  
"The weasel sounded drunk and a bit weirder than normal, so command began thinking something might not be right, Tom suggested that maybe he just caught Ballard after a night of partying, after all it's the Bahamas, and maybe he was just hungover. Command said that was basically what the Jake told him so he seemed to have dropped the subject, but he might inquire a little further, have someone look into him and…" Huck paused for a moment and Fitz caught on  
"He will realize she is not with him" The thought of Olivia being in danger made him nauseous. "I guess we better hurry, so maybe we can get this over with before the two weeks, how is Rosen's official case looking?"  
"It looks solid, we just need to figure out a few more details before he can officially file it in, it is possible we will be done before we thought" Huck replied.  
"I really hope we can pull this off without putting anyone in danger, he can't find Liv, that is what worries me the most"  
Huck just nodded thinking the president had no idea of how important it was for Olivia to be safe, since his son depended on that too.

_**AN2: So what do you guys think, is command going to let it drop, or will he go looking for an explanation and put the whole operation at risk? At least Fitz got a nice weekend with his kids, and Liv's bond with Jerry is getting stronger, tbh I love writing them being happy and doing normal stuff. Anyway, let me know what you think, please review :)**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**AN: Sorry for not updating sooner, I just have way too many things to do for school, I swear I'm doing my best. We are finally getting close to bringing command down for good, lets just hope everyhitng goes like they planned it. Thanks for reading! :)**_

Friday came again and Fitz was exhausted and worried, they were moving forward with their plan faster than planned, fearing that if command called Jake again it would all be over. Huck had gotten more help from the same guy who helped them with Jerry, Parker. Wednesday afternoon he sent Huck an encrypted message and told him he couldn't leave the country undetected and that he was just hiding on small towns and living under the radar, so he might as well help them.  
The guy was smart so he knew that whatever they were doing had to be against b613 if they spared his life, due to the drug he didn't know about Jerry, so Huck decided to give him a mission. If Parker got caught he could sell them out but at least Olivia and Jerry would still have a chance.

Parker was keeping tabs on a few guys command had in case he needed to escape, those guys just wait for a call to get moving and even recruit more people if needed. He had also supervised the mercenaries hired to neutralize the small criminals who worked for Rowan's benefit, they caught many of them on friday morning and they decided to keep them caged off the record to avoid Rowan finding out. He didn't keep track of those, but his escape guys were a bit more complicated, he didn't contact them unless he felt threatened in some way. Parker was on the look out for orders coming from command, they were going to wait a few more days before they took them down, unless Jake screwed everything up. Escape agents had to be taken all at once or else one of them could warn Rowan; there were just 8 guys, but it was more than enough to make them worry. After going through all the files, they knew who was b613, the only file Huck hid was Tom's; that way they could get black ops people to help them when the time came, soldiers who were loyal to their president and commander in chief not to Rowan. However Huck suggested holding back on getting the military involved, those files were not up to date, even if it was just for about 6 weeks, it was more than enough time for Rowan to recruit a soldier and they wouldn't know about it until it was too late, Tom tried to keep them updated but he didn't really get that much intel.

The gladiators and been in charge of going through a bunch of soldier files to determine which were less likely to have been recruited to b613 in the past 6 weeks; they worked real hard to find a pattern on the files of soldiers who had turned dark including Jake's, there were a few factors on their psych evaluations and skill set that seemed to be similar in all of them. ODC had many actions on stand by, just waiting for the exact right moment to be carried out, their whole operation had to work in perfect sync, like a swiss watch. Huck told them they had to get everyone who could take on command's reign of terror, repeating it was like a hydra, you cut off one head and another takes it's place. Abby even compared it to marvel's Hydra at one point, there was a lot of people who followed command and were loyal to his wicked ways, leaving one of them free, meant risking it all starting again and causing trouble in the future.

* * *

Fitz left his office around 6 pm to go have dinner with his kids and then he went on a meeting with the gladiators. Since Mellie had finally moved to Boston, he was due for another interview, so the people could see the new him as a single dad and great leader; it was just a bunch of pr crap they had fixed already, but it was a good excuse for them to still be hanging out with Fitz. He went to their usual conference room and found them eating diner.  
"Good evening guys" he greeted them  
"Oh, hi sir, we thought you were coming later" Quinn said with his mouth full, and trying to close the container.  
"It's fine, carry on, you guys have to eat at some point, I just had a quick dinner because my daughter was in a rush to leave so she could go to a friends house" Fitz told her "And seriously, after all this, you gotta stop calling me sir, it's just Fitz"  
"Yes Quinn, loosen up a little, we have all forgiven your mistakes, and Fitz here is practically family by now" She was stretched out with her feet on the table and she playfully slapped Fitz arm. David looked at her like she had lost her mind, but Fitz really didn't mind.  
"Have some respect Abby" David told her  
"It's fine, David, and I'm glad you think of me as family, even though I'm a republican" he said to Abby  
"Yeah well, you are not so bad" Abby told him "I mean, if you marry Olivia, you will basically become my brother-in-law, I'll have to put up with you anyway" Fitz just chuckled.  
"I think that's enough chit chat for now" Huck interrupted their conversation "We can still work even if you are eating"  
David agreed with Huck and Abby reluctantly sat up to start working. They were just going through the final details of their plan, and also trying to come up with an emergency one, just in case. Whatever happened their number one task was to get command, dead or alive. They would deal with the rest later even if it was complicated.

* * *

Jerry had been begging Olivia to let him go out to the backyard to at least lay on the grass, he was sick of being inside all the time, but she kept saying no, she said it was too risky. He kept insisting since he was bored out of his mind, and that saturday morning he felt like she was about to finally agree.  
"Come on Liv, we don't have any close neighbors, and the whole backyard is surrounded by tall trees, I haven't seen the light of day in over a month" he pleaded  
"Don't exaggerate, you see the light of day through those glass doors that lead to the backyard, there is no need for you to go out, besides the grass is tall and you are going to get a million bug bites" She told him  
"Seriously, bug bites? I'm not a baby, I can survive bug bites, and I can cut it you know"  
"I don't think we have a lawn mower"  
"We do, I've searched every inch of this house, and I found where your friend put all the tools, he had to fix it when you guys first got here"  
"What if the neighbors hear"  
"Liv, there's no one near enough and even if there was, I don't think hearing a lawn mower will make them want to visit or call the cops, it's a pretty normal thing to do" Olivia thought about it for a moment, he was not going to let the subject drop, and it actually didn't seem like an unreasonable request.  
"Fine, you can go outside and do stuff, just be careful" Jerry walked up to her and grabbed her face to kiss her cheek  
"Thank you" He said before he ran off to find the lawn mower.

Olivia decided to call Huck once Jerry went outside, she didn't want to call while he was there, she wanted to ask how the plan was coming along and she didn't want for Jerry to get his hopes up, in case they had to wait for longer. She went to her room and made the call, it ringed a few times before he answered.  
"Lucy" Huck said  
"Randy" Olivia answered  
"What is it?" He asked  
"I just wanted to know how everything is going" Olivia told him  
"We are moving forward, it might be done sooner than we thought, the weasel made us hurry"  
"What happened? Should I be worried?" Olivia was worried already  
"Not yet, that's why we are moving faster, your dad called him and he seemed off, we worry another call could make everything go bad, but we are handling it" Huck explained  
"Are you sure?" She really wanted to be prepared  
"For now, yes, I will let you know if something goes wrong, so you can escape" Huck was not very reassuring.  
"Ok, how is Fitz doing" Olivia asked  
"He's ok, don't worry, I need to go now, I have things to do" Huck hung up the phone  
Olivia was grateful for him and all he had done, but sometimes she wished that her only contact with DC had better people skills. She went to her closet and started packing a suitcase just to be ready, she would go to Jerry's room later to pack him a bag too.

* * *

Fitz had breakfast with both of his kids, he wanted to talk to Karen, to explain her a little bit of the whole Olivia and command mess, since he was going to make her stay in the white house until after they caught command. He was not taking any chances  
"Hey kid I need to talk to you" They were watching tv in the living room so he turned it off to have her full attention.  
"What's up dad, is something wrong?" Her voice full of concern considering recent events  
"Not really, I just… This is hard to explain" he started "There is this secret off the record spy organization that they work to protect our country, but you see, they don't really have to answer to the president, at some point since it exists the guy in charge of it gained too much power. So by the time I became president there wasn't much I could do"  
"Ok… and you are telling me this because? are we in danger?" Karen asked him. Fitz took a deep breath.  
"Well, it's just that, out of all the evil masterminds who could run the thing, it's Olivia's father" he let that sink in for a moment. "and he hates me for dating his daughter, he is the one responsible for your brother's death" he figured he better just tell her the truth  
"What" Karen was shocked to say the least.  
"But, look, honey, Olivia has nothing to do with that man ok, actually she left because she was trying to protect us, command Rowan wanted her to leave so she did, that way he would let his guard down so we could catch him" Karen nodded "We are getting close, so I need you to stay here until all this is over, I don't want anything to happen to you, I know you get bored here, but it's just for a little while" he explained to her  
"Yeah, I guess that's okay" she was looking real shaken up by Fitz words, so he was concerned  
"You know you can tell me anything right?" he told Karen  
"Dad, it's just that, it's her father, like, do you trust her? and why didn't she do anything?" Karen was very upset and had started to doubt Olivia, the whole thing was just a little to much to handle.  
"I do trust her, one hundred percent without doubt ok, she had nothing to do with it, she's a victim just like the rest of us, we talked about it because I just found out about it recently and I was mad her for not telling me, but she was just trying to protect me, they had been estranged for a long time and she just liked to pretend she didn't have a father" Karen looked at him worried, she still was sure what to think.  
"Karen, it's not her fault her parents are evil, actually the reason she's hiding is because she did something to help me catch him and he would kill her if he knew, it doesn't matter that she's his daughter, he would kill her if she got on his way" he tried to explain  
"He would kill his own daughter, and why did you say parents, is her mom evil too?" She asked trying hard to keep it together.  
"Yes, that's how evil he is, he would kill his own daughter, and" he sighed "her mom is evil too, she supposedly died in a plane crash, but she was just caught by her father and locked up since Olivia was twelve, the woman is a terrorist" Fitz told Karen  
"That is so messed up" she said after a while "So, you guys got past that and then back together after the whole… you know" Karen was trying to not say defiance, if they were talking, she wanted to know the rest of the story she didn't hear when they first talked.  
"Yes, and no" he paused to gather his thoughts "we had a bit of trouble after I went back to your mother, we were together, but it was not ok, then your mom realized I would not win unless I was ok with Olivia so she asked her to come back for my reelection campaign. She was going to, but then" he stopped, he didn't feel ok talking about shooting down that plane "This also very serious and you can not repeat it" she held out her pinky just like the last time, he complied and then continued talking "When I was in the navy I was ordered to shoot down a plane, there was a bomb in it, the thing is that, it's the plane were Liv's mom was "killed"" he made air quotes "so when she found out she was mad at me for not telling her, but I couldn't really talk about it with anyone, she refused to listen to me and I also want dot know about her father" he paused for a moment thinking about Vermont "We worked things out anyway, and we kind of got back together, but everything was a mess because I tried to bring down her father and it seems like I only made it worse, then her mom was on the loose and I couldn't leave your mom in the middle of the reelection campaign, then I thought it was all over since I was going to loose, but your brother died and I won then she left and I the whole catching the bad guy thing is going on"  
"So, so, messed up" Karen repeated "Like so many things happened, and you guys can't catch a break" Fitz chuckled at his daughters expression, Karen sat there in silence for a little while after that, he had to go, but wanted to make sure she was alright. "I guess you are hoping to finally get that break once you fix everything" Fitz nodded "That's ok I guess" He was relieved to hear she didn't have any problem with Olivia after all she heard.  
"Just be careful dad, I don't want anything to happen to you either" she said as she moved closer to give him a hug.  
"I will, everything is going to be ok" he kissed the top of her head and told her he had to go take care of some stuff. They were workin non-stop to move up the final part of their plan to ealry that week, they were almost ready and couldn't afford to take longer than needed.

_**AN2: I know this chapter may seem uneventful, but Karen was still in the dark about many things and Jerry already knew everything. Let me know what you guys think :)**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**AN: Updating sooner than I expected, I should be sleeping, but who needs that anyway. We are getting close to getting rid of command, finally, let us hope nothing goes wrong cause no one wnat him around. Hope you guys enjoy ;)**_

On monday morning Jerry got up early to continue his gardening work, on saturday he stopped after about an hour, he had never done lawn mowing in his life and it was way more tiring than he thought. On sunday he decided to take on the backyard as a project to fight boredom, he would make it look nice, there were plants already there that just had to trimmed and cleaned; he didn't really know much about gardening, but he couldn't really make it worse.  
Olivia was very anxious, Huck had told her on sunday night that the final part of their plan was being executed on wednesday, they were so close to being free, she couldn't really believe it would finally be over. Huck told her he would go to Houma to be with her when everything happened, just to make sure nothing went wrong, he would be traveling tuesday afternoon to get to her wednesday morning, he preferred to travel at night to go faster. She was packing some things that morning, she wanted to be ready to leave, but she didn't want to tell Jerry yet, just in case they had to postpone it, she planned to wait until wednesday morning that Huck got there.

* * *

Rowan was sitting is his office wondering about Jake and his daughter, everything seemed to be ok, but he had a gut feeling things were a little too good to be true; neither Fitzgerald or Olivia were doing stuff they weren't supposed to, too much calm, and being who he was he found it odd, even more after calling Jake. He thought about sending someone to get Ballard, see if his daughter was with him, and if she wasn't, persuade for information, but a part of him considered he was making too big a deal of the situation and he would just be wasting resources, his daughter was nowhere near Fitzgerald anyway. After a little while, he decided to call one of his agents, Adams, and have him find Jake, he could spare and agent, the guy was reliable, and why not do it and get it out of his mind instead of just sitting there thinking about it. Adams arrived around noon and went directly to his office.  
"Sir, you wanted to see me" Adams said  
"Yes, I need you to do something, and it's kind of personal so I rather have you doing it" Rowan told him  
"Of course, anything"  
"I need you to coordinate a search for Jake Ballard and have them find out if he is indeed with a woman having fun in the Bahamas" Rowan instructed him, it was better if he left out the woman was his daughter, that was a piece of information very few agents knew.  
"On it Sir, I just have to go finish another assignment first" Adams told him  
"I understand, just come back later" Adams walked out of the office, and Rowan just sat there finally satisfied with his decision.

* * *

"How is everything with command?" Huck asked Tom while both of them waited for Fitz latest interview to be over.  
"Last time I checked, it's all good, I can't show up today just because, it would be weird, but I am due for a POTUS report tomorrow" Toms replied  
"Ok then, we wait and hope nothing goes boom" Huck said  
"Pretty much, yeah"

Fitz' interview was over after a few minutes and he walked out of the room and went straight to Huck.  
"Gentlemen" Both of them nodded and replied with a very formal Mr. President "Is everything ok?" he asked, thinking both of them looked worried.  
"Yes, we are just a bit on edge, considering everything" Huck tried to reassure the president, he didn't want him to do anything stupid. "I just need you to wanted to talk to you about the car you said you could get me, you know, so Olivia doesn't freak out if I just borrow one" Fitz laughed at his choice of words.  
"Of course, lets go to the conference room, and I'll make the call from there" he stared walking and both men followed him. They reached the conference room and the rest of the team was there, they were actually working on his whole post divorce image building plan, ODC was pretty much done, they just had to make sure all actions were done at the proper time it was all planed out already.  
"So, how did it go? Was I good?" He asked Abby after taking a seat  
"You sure did, your numbers are actually pretty good" Abby answered with a smile "Looks like america is finally getting over your divorce"  
"You think I'll be able to start dating soon?" he asked coyly  
"Hold your horses Mr. President, lets not get carried away, besides, your girl is still MIA, or were you planning on dating someone else?" Abby replied.  
"Nope, she's the one, so you can't blame me for hoping she comes back soon, and once she does, I don't care what you say, I will not be wasting any more time" he said thinking once he got her back he would make her First Lady the minute she said yes.  
"We'll see Mr. President, now lets just get back to work" Abby told him and finished the Olivia conversation so they could all get back to business. 

* * *

Jerry was keeping himself busy with his gardening, at first he felt bad about leaving Olivia alone, considering they had spent very waking hour together in the past few weeks, but then he realized she was kind of avoiding him. He had a feeling it had to do with something in DC, about the whole plan to bring down her father; he wanted to know but he understood maybe she didn't want him to get his hopes up in case there was a setback, so he pretended he noticed nothing.

There were some wild overgrown bushes he had been waiting to cut because he couldn't find the large gardening scissors, he just had a pair of small ones he had used with flowers, but that morning he had peeked through the front window blinds to see if Huck had left them on the porch or something, since there were probably plants there too, and indeed they where there getting all rusty from the humidity and just being dumped out there. Jerry knew Olivia would never let him go outside and she never went past the door, if he asked she'd probably tell him to do something else. Jerry knew, she had stopped leaving everything locked since like their third week, once she was truly convinced he wouldn't try to run; so he waited until after lunch when she disappeared upstairs to go outside real fast and get the scissors, he thought it was very simple and she would never find out.

He carefully opened the front door, trying to not make a sound and very slowly started walking on the front porch. Jerry had been so concentrated in being quiet that he didn't notice the delivery guy walking up to the house until he talked to him.  
"Hey kid, I got your groceries, is your mom home?" the guy asked. Jerry froze momentarily and then got up with the scissors in hand and hurried back into the house, hoping the guy hadn't seen his face, he slammed the door after he got in. Olivia heard the noise from upstairs, she had been putting on her custom to answer the door fro the dinner supplies she had ordered, she panicked for a moment thinking there was no reason for that door to be used, she ran out of her room and nearly crashed into Jerry on the stairs.

"What happened" she asked him, panic written all over both of their faces.  
"I just…" he tried to talk, then they heard the doorbell.  
"What did you do?" she asked him again  
"I wanted to get this scissors, I didn't know anyone was coming, I didn't see, he was out there" he ranted. She saw how scared he was and decided to go get rid of their visitor before anything else.  
"I will go get rid of him, just go to your room, I'll be up in a minute" Jerry ran to his room and sat on the bed, cursing in his head for being so careless.

Olivia managed to compose herself to put up her act and went for the door. She opened, a teenager was standing there with a few bags in his hands.  
"Hi, I'm sorry about my nephew, he's not good with people" doing her best southern accent and letting out a small chuckle.  
"That's ok ma'am" the guy politely answered "here is what you ordered. Olivia took the bags and gave him the money.  
"Thanks" she told him before she gave him a hefty tip "Have a good one"  
"Thank you ma'am" the guy smiled and walked away. Olivia sighed in relief, everything seemed to be fine. However, Michael, the delivery guy, did see Jerry's face and was trying to place it in his head, he thought he seemed familiar but couldn't remember from where, and just like most people, it bugged him so he kept thinking about it. As he was driving back to the store he was behind a car with an old and discolored Grant bumper sticker, and that's when it hit him, the kid looked a whole lot like the president's dead kid. Michael didn't really know how the first children looked before the kid died, he didn't actually know how the girl or the baby looked like, but he remembered the dead kid's face because he had seen it over and over, on every news show, newspaper, on the internet, portraits of the kid taken over the years, school photos, the press had got their hands on all they could; and to top it off, some ladies at the supermarket had made a small memorial thing for him at the cafeteria with a large photograph. He chuckled to himself thinking he had found Jerry's doppleganger, and when he parked back at the store he got his phone out to tweet it, he just thought it was a funny thing to tweet "Just saw the doppleganger of the POTUS dead kid LOL #ripjerrygrant #presidentgrant"

* * *

Tuesday afternoon Tom was waiting outside command's office for his routine briefing of POTUS activities, he was going to report nothing interesting just as he had for the past weeks. There was another guy standing there with a pack of files on his hands, he knew the guy, command trusted him with his most unofficial tasks.  
"Adams" Tom said to acknowledge the other guy waiting to see command  
"Larsen" he replied  
"What do you got there"  
"Just a little assignment, had to find this guy, what he's up to" Tom thought fast and realized there was a chance it was about Ballard, so he decided to play along and pretend he knew, see if the guy bought it.  
"Oh, the Ballard situation" The guy looked a bit surprised, but then figured it made sense, Tom was also one of commands most trusted guys.  
"Yeah, you know about it?" he wanted to be sure  
Tom nodded "There was a phone call, he seemed off"  
"Well he is" Tom cursed in his head, they were so close, then he saw the guy winced when he turned to see the guy that had just passed them. Tom saw an opportunity  
"You ok man?" Tom asked  
"Not so much, I was shot a couple of days ago and I couldn't get the bullet out, have to go see the doc" Adams replied  
"I can give those files to him, so you know, you can go get that checked" he suggested  
"I don't know man" Adams hesitated  
"I know those bullets can really hurt, and I have to see him anyway, plus, it's your lucky day cause I know what those are about so it's not a problem that you give the intel to me" Tom insisted, he saw the guy was caving.  
"Guess you are right, but you know it's command"  
"I'm just saying, cause I have to go in before you, cause I have some rather important stuff to tell him, he said it was urgent that I got back to him" Tom made something up to see if Adams finally agreed.  
"I know, you always get big shot info" he winced from the pain again "This does hurts like a bitch so…" he handed the files to Tom "Just put in a good word for me ok"  
"Sure, no problem" Tom waved as the guy hurried out of there, he hid the papers on his back right before the door to the office opened, he knew there were cameras, but by the time someone noticed it would be too late. Adams figured his information wasn't so important, command didn't make it seem like a big deal and he had no idea his daughter was the missing woman.

After about an hour he came out form his POTUS briefing and left to go back to the white house, once he was far enough he called Huck.  
"What happened" Huck answered the phone  
"He sent someone to find Ballard, see if his story held up"  
"And?"  
"It's handled, I intercepted the files, he won't find out on time" Tom told Huck  
"Ok then, I'm about to leave town, Abby is in charge now, but call me if it's an emergency" Huck said as he packed a the last of his luggage into a black sedan.  
"Ok" Huck hung up right away and got in the car.

* * *

Olivia had dropped the groceries on the living room and ran upstairs right after they guy left their house. She wanted to make sure Jerry was fine, she was mad that he broke the rules, but she was more worried that he could have a panic attack.  
"Jerry are you ok?" She found him sitting in his bed hugging his legs  
"I am so sorry Liv, I should've been more careful, what if something goes wrong, I'm so sorry" he was on the verge of tears, she sat next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.  
"It's ok, I don't think he saw anything, he just wanted to drop the food and get his money" she said soothingly. "Besides, we are close to the end of all this, everything will be just fine, just don't do it again ok"  
"I swear Liv, I won't even go to the backyard" He said, clearly still scared.  
"I don't think that is necessary, I may have exaggerated a bit, the backyard is pretty secluded" she tried to console him.  
"Yeah, but I'm not taking any chances, you guys did so much to protect me and here I am screwing it all up, like what if your dad finds us" he was really shaken up  
"Look I didn't want to tell you this yet, but, it's happening tomorrow" Olivia decided to tell him  
"You mean… like we are coming out of hiding" he said with relief  
"Yes, it will all be over in a few hours, so there is nothing to be worried about" she smiled at him  
"I guess not much can happen in less than a day" He finally calmed down.  
"Come on kid, lets go cook some dinner" Olivia told him and tugged his arm to get him off the bed. He followed her to the kitchen and they started preparing their meal to get their minds off the incident.

* * *

Later that night, Tom was getting ready to call it a day, he was not on night POTUS detail so he was going to get some rest, it was going to be hard day, wednesday with ODC coming to an end so he wanted to be sharp and rested. He was heading home when his phone started to ring, it was command. He cursed under his breath, and hesitated to answer, then he figured it was better to know what was going on, it could get worse if he ignored the call.  
"Yes, sir" he answered  
"Tom, I need you to come see me right now" Rowan said slowly and clearly  
"Is something wrong sir?" Tom asked, trying to find how screwed he was, if Rowan knew about Adams giving him the files.  
"Not yet, but I have something to discuss with you" Tom was 90% sure he was screwed, he contemplated making a run for it and waiting for Rosen to get him arrested, it was just a few hours he would have to wait; but he had to know if their plan was in danger, he had betrayed his boss enough already and if he really wanted redemption he couldn't just run and risk everything he had been working on, and putting his son's life at risk again.  
"I'll be there in a few" he finally told command.

Rowan was sitting in his office waiting for Tom, and he was pissed, he was going home already when it hit him it was about time Adams had turned in his report, so he went and asked how it was coming along to put some pressure into his agents to have it by the morning, but he was unpleasantly surprised to find it had been finished hours ago. He called Adams only to get another nasty surprise, the files had been given to Tom so Adams could go get some medical attention. He sensed something was very wrong and that one of his most trusted guys was likely betraying him. He knew that if Tom kept those files from him it was because there was something wrong in them, there was no way around it, Tom had turned against him so he had to be gone; but first, he wanted to know what was going on. A few minutes later there was a knock on his door.  
"Come in" he said through gritted teeth, trying to stay calm, he wanted to get the info in a peaceful way, then kill him without a mess.

_**AN2: So... it's almost time, they are so close, but it seems like they can't keep out of trouble, will Rowan get anything out of Tom, will the tweet be an issue, or are getting worried for nothing and their plan will work just fine? Let me know what you guys think :)**_

_**I apologize for any grammar or spelling mistakes you find, they happen a lot more than usual when I'm sleep deprived.**_


	14. Chapter 14

_**AN: Again updating sooner than expected (I should really get back to my homework), I just really wanted to get this out cause I'm tired of Rowan. This was really exciting to write, and also a bit hard, I mean bringing down command can't be easy ;) Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it, and as always thanks for reading :)**_

* * *

Tom walked inside the office, and saw command standing in front of his desk instead of sitting behind it, that was never a good sign.  
"You wanted to see me" Tom walk with caution  
"Don't play dumb, you know why you are here, where are the files" Tom pulled them from under his coat and gave them to Rowan. He took them and quickly started reading them.  
"So, I was right, something was off, my daughter is not with Ballard and he is just drinking his life away, being totally useless" he said bitterly "I guess I was expecting these, but what's really got me confused, is why were you trying to keep me from finding out about it"  
"I was just…" Tom started talking but Rowan held up his hand  
"I am not done" he said angrily "You knew i'd find out eventually, so were you making time for something or were you just trying to pass this information to someone?" Tom saw an opportunity  
"Yes, the president wanted to know what Ballard was up to, so I planned to show this to him and turn them in tomorrow morning" He tried to sound convincing  
"And you keep lying" Command said even angrier "If that was the case, you could have just read them while you waited outside, gave them to me and I wouldn't have known, do you know where my daughter is agent Larsen?" Rowan got really close to him.  
"No, I swear I don't" That part was true "Mr President wants to find her so he asked me to look into Ballard, I didn't have the time to do it so I figured I could just borrow this for a little while." Rowan looked at him warily. "Also I thought it would put more pressure on him to get something out of her friends and that way it could help you find her" He was trying hard to sound convincing "After I saw she was not with him, I just wanted to make sure he actually didn't know anything"  
"And why the hell didn't you just tell me when you came in here" command asked angrily  
"Because I didn't have time to check them before I came in, and I didn't think you would let me borrow them" Tom was getting even more nervous  
"So you are telling me, you used agency resources to make yourself look good in front of your other boss" Rowan was dangerously close to him  
"I guess I did" Tom said defeated  
"And you have no idea where my daughter is?" He asked again  
"I swear I don't" Tom replied

Command walked to his desk and pressed a button on his phone to call a couple of agents into the office. He looked at Tom with a scowl on his face and ordered him to sit. Tom obliged, then the agent Rowan called walked into the office.  
"Jones, Nolan, please make sure this gentleman doesn't go anywhere while I'm out" Both agents nodded and pointed their guns at Tom.

Rowan left his office in a rush, he wanted to know if the people Adams had sent to the Bahamas were still there, to have them do a little work on Ballard and see if he knew anything. Tom's story wasn't totally crazy, it could have happened that way, but he knew it didn't. He considered throwing Tom into the hole, but that took time and he needed the information fast, he had a gut feeling something was going on and he didn't have much time.  
Command stormed into one of the offices and found Adams there clutching his side and talking to someone, he went straight to him and grabbed his arm violently.  
"What the hell did you do!?" Rowan screamed at the guy  
"I had no idea Larsen would keep the information to himself, I thought he could be trusted" He replied trying to calm down the monster  
"It seems like he can't and if I give you an order, you don't pass it on to someone else, you see it through, but that is not important now, are your guys still down there?" Rowan had released his arm.  
"They are in Miami, but I just ordered them to go back" Adams was trying to act like he wasn't scared.  
"How many?"  
"There's three of them"  
"You think they can subdue him?"  
"If he is as wasted as he looked I'd think so"  
"Well they better, it would take about 4 hours to send more people from here and I don't want to take that long.

* * *

Tom sat in the office feeling a great deal of anxiety, all their plans were in jeopardy and he couldn't warn anyone, he couldn't go anywhere and couldn't place the call without spilling the beans. Time was passing, but Huck was still at least four hours away from Olivia; Fitz had issued an order to let that car ignore speed limits across the country saying it was national security and couldn't disclose more info, so Huck could just over speed all the way to Houma without being bothered by cops, but still it would take him at 12 hours to get there, plus the time he spent getting gas or going to the bathrom. He had left DC before 4pm and it was almost midnight, Tom just wanted to call Huck and warn him so he could tell Olivia to move somewhere else just in case before he got there.

Around 1:30 am the agents finally had Jake and they were dragging him to an empty warehouse to perform the interrogatory. One of them was on the phone with command so he could listen to everything. The beating started a few minutes later, Ballard kept saying he had no idea about anything, they had given him the drug they give people during interventions to keep them sharp and avoid withdrawal symptoms. Rowan asked the guy who had him on the phone to grab a tablet so Jake and him could see each other. Once he had a clear visual of the guy, he told the agents to hold him in place and started talking.  
"Ballard, my daughter is missing, and you have been deceiving me for a while, making me think she was with you, that just makes it look like you planned it with her all along" His voice was calm and clear, which made it even more frightening.  
"I have no idea, she just hoped off the plane when we were leaving and never came here" Jake told him.  
"And why didn't you just tell me sooner?"  
"Tell you I lost your daughter and face your wrath, she was the only reason you didn't end me for trying to take your place" Jake said bitterly "No Olivia to watch after, I was of no use, after I told you I lost her you have jet killed me or worse, thrown me in the whole. So I figured I should just enjoy it while it lasted"  
"You useless piece of shit, at least you were right about that, now, I need you to tell me something useful and I will kill you fast, but if you don't then I'm afraid it will be slow and painful" He screamed to his tablet screen.  
"I really know nothing and you don't even scare anymore I got nothing to loose and I am going to die anyway…"  
"Give him a little encouragement boys" He ordered the agents. They started beating him up again, he was all covered in blood already, his eyes were almost swollen shut.  
"Are you sure you still know nothing?" command inquired  
Jake stayed silent for a moment seeing if he could come up with anything, he was in pain and a fast death was looking quite good at the moment. He opened his mouth right before Rowan ordered a new round of beating.  
"I think…" he pause to spit blood " I think she found out what you were responsible for Jerry Grant's death"  
"What" Rowan said in disbelief  
"She… she seemed to be up to something" Jake stopped to catch his breath "But I thought it was just about her mom"  
"How did you know?" Jake chuckled  
"Don't forget I was command too" he said with a smirk. Command was getting angrier by the minute, he wanted to know how he found out, but he was more desperate to know if his daughter was up to something. He was going to resume his questioning on tom when another agent ran towards him saying he found something weird.  
"What is it?" He nearly screamed at the guy  
"We were just going through the internet seeing if anything from the president's recent activity popped up like you asked"  
"And?" he was in no mood for suspense  
"Someone tweeted they saw a doppleganger of Jerry grant, in Houma LA" The gears started turning inside his head, was that the reason she had gone into deep hiding? There was only one man who knew what went down that day and he was sitting in his office. After he gave the order to trace the whereabouts of the kid who tweeted it he went back to his office; he went in and slapped Tom with the back of his hand so hard Tom thought he had cracked his neck.  
"What did you do!" Rowan was getting tired of saying that, it seemed like people were determined to screw up his orders. "Did you kill Jerry Grant?! Did you do what I ordered you to do!?" He yelled, he was clearly loosing it.  
"I did!" Tom answered without hesitation.

Rowan didn't know what to believe, considering recent events it was hard to trust Tom, and the tweet was not really solid evidence. He told his agents to give Tom a little warm up and he leaned on his desk just watching. About 15 minutes later a guy came rushing into his office.  
"We may have something" he exclaimed  
"Spill!" Rowan said exasperated  
"So the kid is a delivery boy for a grocery store, so we hacked into the store system to check his deliveries he had only done 4 that day before the tweet. We checked the addresses on the federal database, three of those had people who had been living in town for years, but the fourth one, and last before the tweet, but the fourth, the order was placed under the name Sheila Green, and the name listed for the owner on the federal database is some guy who died months ago, so we looked through the city records for the sale of the house and it was bought by a Lucy Wilson, we checked the dmv and the only Lucy Wilsons that pop up are nowhere near the city. We are checking if any of them looks suspicious, but there are too many" The guy explained. Rowan stood there for a moment going over the information, the house was only recently bought, and there is no information on the new owner. Based on his own personal experience it looked like someone was hiding in it but he couldn't be sure, then he realized they could do something. He ordered the guy to try and place the name on people entering the country right after her daughter left, with all their resources it too them no time to find a match, but the woman in the photo was not Olivia. Huck had hacked the database and changed the photo on Lucy's file after Olivia came back into the country and her image no longer needed to be there. Rowan cursed.  
"Sir"  
"What"  
"This is a fake identity file, it looks legit but once you track it's origin… it was only created a couple of months ago, it's an expert hack, but a hack after all" As careful as Huck was, those people were trained just like him and had even more software to use and knew what to look for.  
"Did you people get my plane ready?"  
"Yes sir, you just have to go to the hangar, it's ready to leave"  
"Be gone, tell Adams he is coming with me" The guy left the office. Rowan ordered Nolan to go get some of his tools. Tom realized he was fucked, but luckily for him it was Nolan the one asked to leave, he knew Jones had a weak spot on his right leg from a recent injury and command was unarmed. Figuring it was his last chance he went for it.

* * *

Tom caught Jones by surprise and his just the right spot, then he tried to pry the gun from his hands, but he was grasping it tight, also command had reacted fast and attacked Tom. It was all moving too fast, he was using every last bit of strength he had, he got the gun, but he couldn't shoo without calling too much attention on himself, so he just hit Rowan in the head with it and started running. He made it out of the office, it was late, there weren't many people left there and they were all on find Olivia duty, he ran for the exit, he thought he had made it but command was tougher than he thought. Rowan had recovered from the blow pretty fast and he went to find one of his guns, he stumbled out of his office and went after Tom while screaming for reinforcements. Tom was almost at the exit when he felt the first shot, it grazed his right leg, felt like karma; he turned around, the second shot hit his abdomen, the third hit his arm, none of them were fatal because of the distance and the bow to the head Rowan's aim was off.  
Command saw Tom getting weak so he lowered the gun and started moving toward him again. Tom saw a las opportunity to escape, with the adrenaline rushing through his veins he managed to start moving again and opened the door behind him, he started running despite the burning pain in his leg he heard fast steps coming he rushed to his car and took off.

* * *

Tom made it to the White House gates by some sort of miracle, the guards at the entrance saw he was hurt and tried to call an ambulance, he demanded to talk to the president first he said it was a matter of life and death. Some of the agents on call rushed to help hi, and tried to control the bleeding while the president arrived, he was on the lobby propped on a couch.  
Fitz finally got there still in his pjs looking completely panicked.  
"What the hell happened" he exclaimed  
"Sir he knows, command knows Liv is not with Ballard, he knows where she is, he is leaving as we speak,but I couldn't get the location" Tom said through ragged breaths. "I wanted to reach Huck but one of the bullets destroyed my phone" Fitz got a phone from his agents and called Abby, she said she only had the city, Houma, in Louisiana but said she would call Quinn, but she didn't have the address either, Fitz decided to get there and figure things out along the way  
"Prepare air force one, we are leaving" Fitz said to no one in particular, the agents got to work and Tom was being rushed to an ambulance almost unconscious, but he yelled at Fitz before he ran back to get dressed.  
"Your son" Tom whispered, Fitz tensed at the mention of Jerry "He is alive, he's with her, we were just trying to protect him and your family"  
"What" Fitz felt again like he had been punched in the gut by a bus. Tom lost consciousness and left Fitz standing there in shock, but he snapped out of it fast enough, if it was true he had to do everything to keep both of them safe

Fitz changed in record time, he ordered to not let any non essential personnel in the White House that day and put extra agents guarding the residence. Marine One was waiting for him at the south lawn already, and Air Force one was ready to leave at the hangar. He was airborne about 45 minutes after Tom arrived at the white house, he couldn't believe how fast people had moved to get things ready. While he was traveling there he called the secretary of defense to tell him to have troops ready to go into action in Houma, he said he couldn't tell why, but to do it. He didn't want them going around the city or to make a big deal yet; he was avoiding putting command on alert, or pushing him to do something rash. It was already 4am, Huck was about two hours away from her, he would get there just a bit before they did, Fitz was just praying he called them so he could know the address and tell him to take them away.

Fitz spent most of the flight thinking about Tom's words, he couldn't wrap his head around it. How could she put him through so much pain, she was with him afterwards, she saw how broken he was. He was just feeling hurt and confused, a part of him didn't want to believe, to not get his hopes up for no reason and because he just couldn't understand how could she have held him while he cried the loss of his son and said nothing if it was true; that she just let him suffer through the worst that can happen to a parent and just sit there without telling him, he couldn't even understand how she even decided to do it, knowing what it would do to him. He remembered David's words and figured she found out her dad's plans, but why didn't she say something to him, and just left him, ran away with his son and left him there hurting worse than ever.

* * *

Rowan had some advantage on Fitz since he left almost an hour earlier, he arrived at his private hangar in new orleans a little before 6am, it was under one of his alias, Elijah Reed, just in case anyone went looking for Rowan Pope, they weren't going to find him. However, being the president has it's perks and Fitz pilot was going as fast as the plane could go, he got there only 15 minutes after Rowan and there was an unmarked chopper waiting for him there.

The chopper was over Houma in no time but they still had no idea where to go, a second chopper was there too for back up and the secretary of defense told him he had people close enough just waiting for an order. It was almost 6:30 am and no one remembered David had orders to get homeland security on the case at 6am, no one told him to hold off until Olivia and Jerry were safe, any moment one of commands guys in DC would find out and tell him.

Huck was pulling into Olivia's driveway at 6:30, he got out of the car and went for the door, he knocked softly and Olivia rushed to open, both her and Jerry were already up, none of them could sleep thinking it was finally "the day". He got in and told her good morning before running into the bathroom. Rowan was just a few minutes away, Fitz was still hovering the city, and he had agents speeding on suv's from new orleans, but still no idea where to go. Finally huck came out of the bathroom, he sat at the kitchen with Olivia, exchanged a few words about the trip, then he looked at the time and realized David must have started the process already so he at last, called Abby.  
"Hey Abby how" he was interrupted by a very desperate Abby.  
"Good god what took you so long, I need Liv's address, command knows, Fitz is hovering the city as we talk but he needs an address" Abby ranted. Huck was quiet for a second too long out of shock. He told Abby the address while Quinn called Fitz. He told his pilot the location, one of his agents called the ones on the ground and another called the secretary of defense. Huck ran to his bag while he was talking and strapped on a bulletproof vest, then he slipped on his hoodie, Olivia looked at him with panic. They were so close to her, but command was already there. Huck told Liv there was no time to explain but they had to leave, they started moving when they heard a loud banging on the door, it was too late the three of them froze.

"Olivia I know you are in there!" They heard him scream, he wasn't even sure, but he could always fix it if he was wrong. He ordered his people to knock down the door. Huck told Olivia to run, she grabbed Jerry's hand and ran out to the backyard. Rowan went in, Huck started shooting at them, but he knew he was just delaying them there were six guys plus Rowan and there was only one of him; they shot back, he had knocked out three of them, but it was no enough, they got one of his legs and two on the chest he stumbled and fell on his face. They ran past him, he heard command ordering them to chase after Liv and Jerry before he lost consciousness.

Fitz landed on a field near the house and a couple of SUV's were just getting there, he got on one of them and they went to her house, no one really knew what was going on so they just followed Fitz orders despite the fact that it was so risky for him. They pulled up on her driveway and saw the other SUV and the knocked down door, he almost stopped breathing, he ran out and went inside Huck was trying to wake up. The agents turned him over, he couldn't even focus, but he managed to get out they had ran out through the backyard on the left side. Fitz started running before his agents could stop him, he jumped the fence; the land around the house wasn't so packed with trees so he could see far away and they were not there, but there was a road not to far so he ran that way and crossed the road. He ordered his agents to fan out around the house just in case.

* * *

The woods on the other side of the road were full but he heard noises, he tried to make as little noise as possible himself to not be spotted by them. Some of his agents were trailing behind him, but he was so desperate he was going way faster than they were.

Rowan had Olivia cornered, his agents had already informed him he was being arrested as a terrorist, that the feds were already at his office making arrests. This was his last stretch, he had nothing to loose and he wanted to finally kill Jerry at lest, but Olivia wouldn't move out of the way.  
"Olivia dear, I don't intend to kill you, despite the fact that you are a treacherous bitch, you are still my daughter, also I want you to live with the guilt, but the point is, I need you to GET THE FUCK OUT MY WAY" He screamed the last part, he was truly very angry.  
"I will not move, you will have to go over my dead body" Olivia screamed back at him  
"Come on Olivia, don't be an idiot, you know I will go over your dead body if I have to" She still didn't move. Jerry was scared, but he told her she didn't have to do it, if she moved one of them could Liv.  
"Listen to the boy, he's not as dumb as I thought" Command said bitterly  
"Would your dad move away" She half turned her head to talk to him so her dad wouldn't listen. He nodded no "Well it's about the same with me, I will not move"  
"This is my last warning Olivia" He raised his hand aiming at her. She turned around and hugged Jerry.

Fitz could hear them clear already, he panicked, he started running faster, he could see Rowan raising his gun. His agents were trailing right behind him trying to keep up and updating the others on their location. Two of commands guys were a several feet away, his agents brought them down with their knives before they even knew what had happened. He just kept running. Only Rowan and one of his guys were left, with all that was going on he didn't notice he was too focused on killing his daughter and Jerry. He was so close.

"Don't say I didn't warn you" Rowan stated right before he shot.

Olivia kept hugging Jerry tight with her eyes shut tight, a million things going through her head, but mainly she thought about Fitz and the pain he would feel when he found out, and the fact that they had been so close to making it. She braced herself for the shot, but it didn't came, just as she heard the shot, instead of feeling excruitiating pain, she felt someone pushing her out of the way.

_**AN2: Wow so things got heated, so many things happening at once, so much at stake... What do you guys think happened?  
**_

_**I hope you guys liked this chapter! please let me know what you think I love reading your reviews :)**_


	15. Chapter 15

_**AN: Finally chapter 15, command is gone and you get to find out what happened with Jerry, Olivia and Fitz... I hope you guys enjoy :)**_

Olivia heard the shot but instead of feeling a bullet ending her life she felt a strong force pushing her out of the way, as she was hitting the ground the heard another shot, then another, she counted five in the end. Everything was happening really fast, she couldn't understand what had just happened, it couldn't be Huck, he had been shot, in matter of seconds she turned her head and saw them, secret service agents.

"Falcon is down, I repeat, Falcon is down" she heard one of them say

She scrambled to get up and desperately turned around, he was there lying on the ground bleeding, from the shot that was meant for her. The agents were huddling around him, they were putting a makeshift bandage on his side to slow the bleeding, Fitz was still conscious trying to cooperate with them helping him.

Olivia was trying to get up but she struggled, everything was spinning around her, she didn't even register Jerry trying to get up next to her. A few agents approached them and helped them up, she heard one of them saying they were securing Athena and Thunderbolt. She tried to move towards Fitz, but she realized the agent was holding onto her tight. The agents with Fitz had gone into some strange formation to pick him up and carry him like a human gurney.

"Is the helicopter in place?" one of the agents asked

"Yeah, it managed to land on this road" another answered

"We just have to get him there ASAP, we got people securing the hospital already" a third one said

Olivia was still trying to get to him, she was desperate and scared and her brain couldn't process what was happening, she wanted to follow Fitz detail, but the agent that was with her wouldn't let her do it.

"No let me go, I have to go with him" she screamed at the agent who had her, simultaneously another agent was taking Jerry "Dad, no, what are you doing let me go" Jerry screamed at him.

"Ma'am please, I need you to calm down, we are taking care of the president, and I have orders to keep you and him safe, you have to come with me, we'll be right behind him" He tried to reason with her. His words started bringing her out of her shock so she grabbed Jerry's hand and started walking with the agents. They were lead to an SUV and she saw the agents closing the door of a helicopter. As soon as it started moving so did they, she was quiet trying to wrap her head around what had happened in the past minutes, she still felt like everything was spinning out of control and couldn't manage to form coherent thought; that was until a loud sob from Jerry snapped her back to reality. In that moment she realized she had to be there for him, he was crying uncontrollably, he really needed her to get herself together.

"Jerry, I need you to breath ok, everything will be ok" She put an arm around his shoulders and stroked his face with her other hand. He put his head on her shoulder and just kept crying, she adjusted herself to hold him tightly and his sobs began to subside.

"I am right here ok, everything will be ok"

"I can't loose him Liv" he finally said.

"Your dad is a strong man, he got through the last time and it was much worse, he was still awake when they took him, he will be just fine" She was trying to convince herself as much as him.

They rode the rest of the way in silence, it wasn't long before they reached the hospital, the agents got them in through a staff entrance out of precaution. A whole wing of the hospital had already been cleared and only a few doctors and nurses knew who was the VIP patient, the rest had just been asked to stay away.

Hal was the lead agent whenever Tom was unavailable so he was handling the situation, his number two at the moment was an agent named Lucas, and both of them had been instructed by Fitz to ask Huck for advice before doing anything concerning his or Olivia's safety. Lucas had been the one to get the hospital prepared since he had gone with Huck when they took him to there, Hal had been the one who stayed with Fitz, and he could barely even handle the guilt of allowing the president to get shot.

Hal and Lucas had handled everything to keep the incident away from the media for as long as possible, no one in DC knew what had happened yet and Jerry was something neither of them were even able to understand. Huck was arguing with the doctors telling them he had to be released immediately, and that he was fine, upon determining he only had some nasty bruises and a hairline fracture on one rib, he was given a prescription for pain meds and finally discharged. Huck told the agent that was assigned to him to take him to see Olivia, on the way there he got his phone out and called Abby.

"Abby" she heard his voice and and felt a mixture of relief and utter fear.

"What happened? are you guys ok? did you escape? do you need help?" she ranted

"It's a long story, I was shot, the President was shot-" he was interrupted by Abby

"What?"

"Please let me finish, I was wearing a vest but he wasn't , the doctors are checking him now, Olivia is fine and Rowan is dead" He finally got out. The line was quiet for a moment.

"Ok… what do you need me to do?" she knew she had to put her emotions aside and make sure all hell didn't break loose in DC.

"Cyrus, you handle him, I'm thinking he has no idea about what Fitz did in the past few hours, and…" Huck hesitated, he wasn't sure about revealing the truth about Jerry yet, but he knew they couldn't just keep hiding it, people at the hospital would see him and they needed to start planning ASAP about how they would break the news to the country.

"What is it Huck?" Abby inquired.

"This is very serious" he started

"More serious than the President being shot" she interrupted as always

"Yes… we faked Jerry Grant's death" He waited as the line went quiet again, he was almost with Olivia and he wanted to get that over with at the moment so he could help her. "Abby I need to go" he tried to get her attention.

"Yeah, so… ok, I'll just…hmm yeah I got this, I think, I'll call you later" She was barely able to speak.

"Ok then, bye" Huck hung up the phone and started walking faster Olivia was sitting on a waiting room consoling a very distressed Jerry.

* * *

"Liv it's my fault, if I hadn't gone outside your father wouldn't have found us and my dad wouldn't be here right now" He said between sobs

"It's not your fault, my father was a very evil and also very resourceful man, the only reason he went after me was because that idiot Jake couldn't keep the cover story up" Hal had told her the few bits of information on how Fitz got there that he knew.

"Hey Liv" Olivia nearly jumped when she heard Huck's voice, she had been told he was fine but she was quite relieved to see it herself.

"Huck, you are ok" she told him

"Yeah, I was wearing a vest…" he paused for a moment "I'm sorry" Both Jerry and Olivia turned to look at him completely confused by his statement, neither could think of anything he needed to be sorry about.

"Why?" Olivia asked him

"I should have been more careful, I should've checked with DC before" Huck truly felt guilty, even if they didn't think he should. Before Olivia could answer him, Jerry spoke up.

"Hey man, don't say that ok, you did like so much for me and Liv already, like I'm alive because of you, so really I should be thanking you… so hmm thanks" Olivia felt a wave of pride seeing Jerry acting that way, then she chastised herself remembering she was not his mother and maybe never would be. Jerry got up from his chair and wrapped his arms around Huck, he just stood still not knowing how to react, the whole situation made Jerry very emotional, which gave him the urge to hug people.

Jerry took the hint that Huck was very uncomfortable so he stepped back and sat again on his chair. Huck looked at his feet for a while, still unsure of what to do, he figured Olivia would tell him the same if he insisted on it being his fault so he decided to drop it for the moment. H cleared his throat.

"Have you heard from the doctor?" he finally spoke again.

"Not yet, but we haven't been here long" he replied

"Where is Hal?" Huck saw many agents standing guard, but found it weird that Hal, the lead agent, wasn't there, he was pretty sure Fitz had made Olivia and his son first priority after he located them.

"I sent him to see if he could find the non-disclosure agreements that are always kept in the vehicles the president uses, I hope they still do that, we are going to need quite a few" she explained

"Yeah, specially with me hanging around" Jerry added.

Huck decided to sit next to them while they waited for the doctor, after a few more minutes of excruciating wait, they saw the a doctor coming their way, the three of them stood up. He had been told by Hal when Fitz got there that he had to report to Miss Pope once he had news; he found it odd since as far as he knew she didn't work for him anymore, but he figured was only a doctor who had no idea how Washington worked. However when he was finally standing before them he nearly fainted, he saw Jerry and thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

"Hello, hmm is that… are you.. what is going on?" he had trouble forming a sentence. Just on time Hal got there with the papers.

"Hey doc, I will need you to sign this" he handed the doctor the non-disclosure agreement and he signed it right away.

"Doctor…" Olivia paused waiting for him to fill in.

"Oh, I'm sorry, it's Doctor Evans, Richard Evans" He put his hand out to shake hers.

"Well Doctor Evans, this is Jerry Grant, it's a very long story, a matter of national security I am not at liberty to discuss, but we are very, very concerned about President Grant's health so could you please tell us how he is" She had gone into fixer mode.

"Right, sorry, The President is going to be just fine, the bullet didn't really go in, it was just a graze, no internal organs were damaged, it was closer to being like a flesh wound" He explained.

"But…" Olivia knew there was more to it. The doctor was feeling quite intimidated by her and with all that was going on he was acting like a first year intern.

"There was slight bone damage, the bullet went right over his ribs, so it hit three of them, our best orthopedic surgeon is on it, it's just a few small fractures, but nothing mayor." he paused for a moment, but Olivia was quiet so he took his cue to finish. "It won't be an easy recovery because after all it was a bullet, there will be pain and swelling, but I will give him a prescription for that and he just needs to take it easy for a bit, but I'm guessing you all knew that already" he kicked himself mentally remembering President Grant had been shot before.

"Well we figured, so he's going to be ok?" she just really needed reassurance.

"Yes, he will, actually you will be able to move him soon, I'm guessing you guys would rather have him back in DC" the doctor told Olivia.

"That you are right doc, it's probably for the best" Olivia said to him.

"I better go back there and see how everything is coming along, I will come back after he is placed on a room and ready for visitors" The doctor was about to walk away, when Olivia suddenly realized something she had to discuss with Dr. Evans.

"Doctor" He turned around when he heard her and walked back to her

"I may not be able to discuss much about Jerry with you, but there is something you need to know, President Grant didn't know his son was alive until right before he got shot, so I would like you to be there when Jerry goes in to see his dad, just in case he gets too altered, we don't want anything jeopardizing his recovery" Olivia explained to him. Dr. Evans was a bit shocked to hear that, but a part of him thought that made sense, after he saw Jerry he didn't know what to think, he had never pictured President Grant as the kind of guy who would fake going through such a tragedy and get the whole country to grieve with him. He was very curious to know what happened, but he figured he would get an explanation when the rest of the country did.

* * *

After a couple of hours of waiting around and getting a bunch of people to sign the non-disclosure agreements, the doctor came back. He told them Fitz was doing well and that he was in a room already so he could have visitors. Hal told Lucas to stay coordinating the agents while he went with Olivia and Jerry to see Fitz. Huck also went with them. They were all still pretty worried since they were still waiting to hear that all of commands people we're in custody. The special forces team Fitz had requested had spent the morning going through the airport and then the whole town to make sure none of the bad guys had managed to escape.

They got to the door and both of them hesitated to go in, Dr. Evans opened the door for them and let them in. Fitz was sleeping.

"He will be awake in a little while, once the meds wear off" he explained to them. Jerry chuckled.

"I hope he takes things better than I did" he whispered to Olivia, she stifled a laugh.

"Did you say something?" Dr. Evans asked both of them.

"Oh nothing, I was just saying that I hope he wakes up soon" Jerry told him trying not to laugh.

"Well Miss Pope, I have a nurse on POTUS duty, so just have her page me when he wakes up" Olivia smiled at him and thanked him.

It was a quite large room, there was a recliner next to the bed and sofa on the other side, there was also a small table and two chairs. Jerry and Olivia decided to take the chairs and just try to pass the time while he woke up. They decided to keep the conversation light considering all that had happened, hey weren't really in the mood to discuss how everything was going to work out once they finally went back to DC. After about 20 minutes Fitz began to wake up, he was hearing voices and his brain was having a hard time coming back to reality, then he finally recognized them. it was his son and the love of his life chatting like it was the most normal thing in the world, it was something he never thought he would hear.

"I'm glad I can finally get a haircut, you know, since I don't need to be undercover anymore" jerry said almost laughing.

"Undercover, seriously, you never even went out and the one time you did, you were recognized" Olivia told him.

"Ok fine, you are right, but still I need a haircut, I already needed one before all this, I don't think this overgrown mess suits me too well" He said pointing at his head.

"I think you look good either way" Olivia replied.

"Yeah, you are kind of supposed to say that, I'll just ask Karen, you can always count on a sibling to tell you how bad you look even when you don't." Olivia just laughed at his words.

At first he thought he was dreaming, but as the fog on his brain started to go away, all the events from the last few hours came back to him. He stayed quiet for a little while longer, the sedative had really done a number on him and he was still trying to form a coherent thought, he cleared his throat and the conversation immediately stopped. He opened his eyes, the back of the bed was raised so he was almost in a sitting position, so he could see them across the room sitting next to each other and his heart skipped a beat. It was Jerry who broke the silence.

"Dad!" He almost screamed. Then he jumped from the chair and got close to the bed. Fitz was so focused on Jerry that he didn't notice Olivia leaving the room, she went to get the doctor. Jerry walked to the bed and stood next to it, he wanted to hug his dad but he was afraid of hurting him so he just grabbed his right hand.

"Oh my god" he finally got out, he let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding, he pulled Jerry down to hug him and started crying. He muttered how he couldn't believe it and more oh my gods between sobs. Jerry couldn't help himself from crying too. Fitz could feel the pain from the effort he was making, and also because he had Jerry's weight on him, but he didn't care, all he cared about was that his son was alive and he could hold him, something he thought he would never be able to do again.

The doctor came in, the machines were beeping to inform him that Fitz' blood pressure was going up, he told a nurse to go get a sedative, and Fitz heard it.

"Please, don't knock me out I don't want to miss this… I can't" he pleaded as he looked up, his breathing was ragged.

"Sir, we need you to calm down, you could start bleeding and make your recovery a lot harder" The doctor tried to explain.

"Dad, please calm down so they don't have to give you anything ok, I'm not going anywhere I'm right here" Jerry had tried to get up realizing he was probably hurting him, but Fitz' hold was tight. "Also I'm pretty sure this isn't such a good idea considering what happened, how about I just pull up a chair and sit right next to you, and you can totally hold my hand" Jerry tried to move away again and Fitz actually loosened his hold. Hid blood pressure was coming back to normal and he just nodded to his son. Jerry moved one of the chairs and took Fitz' hand as he took a sit, Fitz couldn't stop staring at him like he might disappear any moment, Jerry was waiting for him to say something. The doctor had already left the room, align with Olivia, to give them some privacy.

"What happened?" Fitz finally said, his voice breaking, full of pain.

"Dad… it's kind of a long and very complicated story, how about we just talk about unimportant stuff and enjoy the moment" he suggested. Fitz smiled and nodded.

"You start" he told Jerry, he paused for a moment trying to come up with something.

"You know the show modern family" Fitz nodded "Well, we spent a lot of time watching it, and you know it's pretty good, even reminded me of us a little" he laughed "With the whole divorced guy, two older kids, a baby and a totally out of his league new girl" he laughed some more "I know it's not that close, but still". Fitz stared at his son in awe, he felt like when he was a baby and every single thing he did amazed him. Jerry was trying really hard to ease the tension, to just hang out with his dad and forget the epic mess they were in. They just stayed there talking about silly stuff until Fitz got tired and started to doze off.

* * *

After Olivia left the room she was pulled aside by Huck telling her Abby needed help with Cyrus, that the old guy was being an ass and that her help would be much appreciated with handling what was coming in DC. She asked Huck to get Abby on the phone for her, she answered on the first ring.  
"Olivia I don't know what the hell happened so there isn't much I can do and Cyrus is about to have another heart attack" Abby talked faster than usual.

"Put him on" She knew Cyrus had to be right there, harassing Abby.

"Olivia, would you mind explaining me what is this nonsense Red is talking about, Jerry alive, Fitz shot, what the fuck happened" he yelled the last part.

"Cyrus, please stop harassing Abby, and use her name, all this is not her fault and she had no idea, and before you start yelling again just remember that I can't really talk if you interrupt me" he was quiet so she figured he had got the point. "We found about the plan to murder Jerry a few days before so we decided to fake his death to put my father at ease so you guys could bring him down without much trouble, but it seems trouble found all of us anyway, some things went wrong and Fitz did get shot but it was basically a flesh wound and he will be just fine" Olivia explained to Cyrus, she waited for a moment for him to start yelling again.

"What do you mean we, who is we, what the hell did you do?" as if on cue Cyrus yelled again.

"Me, my friend Huck and Tom, I can't really explain all of this to you on the phone so you'll just have to wait until we get to DC, so you better start making arrangements to make a statement before this leaks and prepare a room in the White House for him to finish his recovery there, I also need you to make the necessary arrangements for him to be transferred, call me when you have it handled, and I'll make sure everything runs smoothly here" With that, she hing up the phone and gave it back to Huck. She was exhausted, and being Gladiator Olivia after the morning she had and with the love of her life in a hospital bed, was not an easy task. 

* * *

After Fitz dozed off, Jerry waited a little while before he moved, he was getting hungry, but he didn't want his dad to get upset if he left his side. He found a small pad and a pen in the table and he wrote down "dad please don't panic, I only went to get food" then he placed the note on Fitz' chest. He walked out of the room and he went to the waiting room where Liv was.

"Hey guys" he greeted them

"Hey, is your dad ok?" she voiced full of concern

"Yeah, he's fine, he just fell asleep, and well since things are good now, my appetite is back so I was wondering if one of this guys could go get me something" he said pointing to the agents "I would go, but people can't see me, cause you know I'm supposed to be dead"  
Olivia let out a chuckle, it was incredible for her to see how that kid could make joke out of almost anything, she found it refreshing, with all the stuff going on around them.

"I can go" Huck spoke up, he was desperate to have something to do, he still felt awkward around Jerry. "What would you like"

"Thanks man, hmm, I guess I just want food, whatever you find, maybe something unhealthy" Jerry told him.

"Ok, I'll se what I can find" Huck got up and left.

"I think I'll go back to the room, would you like to come with me?" Jerry felt like his dad really needed to have a moment with her.

"Maybe later, I need to handle some things for Cyrus and make sure everything is ready for when your dad is cleared to be moved" she lied, she didn't feel ready to face him yet, she was scared and thought it was best for him to just be his son for a while.

"Sure, I'll see you later" Jerry knew something wasn't right, but decided not to push it. 

* * *

It didn't take long for Huck to come back with the food, he had gotten a sandwich and tea for Olivia and breakfast burritos with juice for himself and Jerry. Olivia told him Jerry had gone back to the room so he left his food and hers and went to give Jerry his. He knocked softly on the door and Jerry opened it.  
"I got you a breakfast burrito and orange juice" he stated

"Thanks, I love Burritos" he took the food from Huck and went to put it on the table, Huck was about to leave, but Fitz called him and he stopped.

"Huck, I know there is much I don't know, but what did you plan with Tom? what task did you gave him? how did he end up shot and running from command with all that information on his hands?" Fitz was truly confused about that, he didn't give it a second thought at the moment, things happened too fast, but now he realized something was going on.

"I…" Huck hesitated, he had no idea how to explain to Fitz that he hid the information on Tom and worked behind his back.

"Huck, how about I break the news to him, and then you explain the parts I don't know, like what happened in DC" Jerry thought it was better for him to do it, his dad couldn't get mad at him he thought it would soften the blow.

"That sounds ok, I will come back later" he left before Fitz even had a say in the matter.

"Dad, I need you to stay calm, this is going to tough to hear" Jerry started with that and then proceeded to tell Fitz everything, all that Olivia had told him, about Tom, her dad, how they faked his death, the whole thing they planned to keep them all safe and save his life.

Fitz was shocked to say the least, he couldn't believe Tom had been betraying him the whole time, he had relied on that man with everything concerning Olivia, he even considered him a friend, he trusted the guy, he thought he was on his side, and the whole time he had been reporting back to Rowan. The only thing that made him feel a bit better was that Tom seemed to be trying to make amends after he was caught. He was quiet for a while, he was also thinking how everyone he trusted had plotted behind his back, even Olivia. Jerry was waiting for him to say something, but after a while he decided to break the silence.

"I know this all sucks and Tom really screwed up, but he did tried to make things better and what matters is that I'm alive and well" He said attempting to make his dad feel better. Fitz looked at him and tried to smile, he grabbed Jerry's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Yeah, you are right… could you please get Huck so he can fill us in on what happened last night?" Jerry got up and went for the door, he told one of the agents outside to get Huck.

"Look I was pretty upset when Liv told me everything, but I came around, you just gotta look at the big picture" Jerry told him. Fitz was impressed to see how mature Jerry was acting, he hadn't seen that side of his son in a long time and he knew Olivia was to thank for that, he really needed to talk to her but he had the feeling she was avoiding him. He decided to be concerned about one problem at a time and leave the situation with Liv for later. 

**_AN2: So Fitz is going to be just fine, he already knows what happened, but he still needs to talk to Liv and clear the air between them, lets just hope life doesn't get in the way, it's going to be a mess when it all goes public. Please review, I love to read what you guys think :)_**


	16. Chapter 16

_**AN: Sorry I took so long to update, I've been writing on the very scarce free time I have so it took me a while. Anyway, here it is I hope you guys enjoy :)**_

Two days after the incident, Fitz was allowed to travel back to DC, the wound was healing properly and there was no sign of infection. Cyrus had already arranged for a few modifications on Air Force one, on Fitz' room so they could place the iv drip and he also got a doctor and a nurse to go on the trip with them. Olivia had done everything she could to avoid Fitz even on the plane ride home, she kept telling herself it was for the best, she didn't want him to be upset or anything so she figured it was best to stay away. Fitz wanted to talk to her but he was so overwhelmed by the return of his son that he couldn't focus on anything else, as much as he loved Olivia he figured there was time and he just wanted to focus on his son.

After arriving in DC it was even easier for her, she was helping Cyrus and Abby with the press release and planning everything they had to do after everything came out. So far Cyrus had only said that the president had been shot, that he was fine and that he was going to address the nation himself to explain what had happened.

They news were all throwing theories around and calling him reckless for going on some weird unofficial task that got him shot. Originally they had planned to wait a few days after going back to DC for Fitz to go out in public, but things were getting heated with the press and the polls indicated that the people were not happy and they even wondered if he was actually ok or if he was in the verge of death like the previous time.

Finally Fitz decided to go out before they had planned, they were all worried, but he insisted it was for the best, he hadn't been in DC for 48 hours but he was adamant. He called Cyrus up to the residence that morning so they could have everything ready by noon.

"Morning Cyrus" Fitz greeted him from his spot on a very nice recliner he had on his living room.

"Sir, you know I'm always up for fixing problems as soon as possible but maybe you should wait, tomorrow would be fine it's monday, the beginning of the week and all" Cyrus tried to reason with Fitz, he was indeed a political animal, but he did care for Fitz.

"No, today is fine, the sooner we get this out its better, I'm fine, I'm way better the last time, when I had to go out of the hospital against doctors orders because Mellie screwed up" Fitz tried to make his point.

"Oh yeah, I remember, I wanted to kill her when I found out she had forged your signature when you weren't even awake yet, it was a miracle you woke up before Sally had a chance to do anything" Cyrus sat down close to Fitz and took a deep breath "So just like the last time, there is no changing your mind"

"Nope, I will go out today and start clearing things up" He stated

"Ok, I will talk to Olivia" Cyrus told him.

"You think maybe you can tell her to go see me at my office before, you know, for a little prep and I also might need help with my tie" Fitz thought maybe he could finally get some time with her.

"She still avoiding you?" Fitz nodded "I'll see what I can do" Cyrus left in a rush to get everything ready.

Fitz was so wrapped up in his mind, thinking about all the mess they were in that he didn't notice Jerry had been listening on their conversation. Yet again he heard something horrible his mother had done, he felt hurt and angry, he didn't want her to be his mother or be in his life in any way, but he knew he would have to see her at some point and put on a show once the truth came out, he just hoped it would be over soon.

It was 11 am and Fitz was already in the oval getting ready, he had picked a nice navy blue suit and a few ties to choose from. He was really excited to see Olivia, but a few minutes later Cyrus walked in alone.  
"Where is Olivia?" Fitz asked

"She said she's busy, gave me instructions and to tell you to wear the red tie with the stripes"

"Seriously?" Fitz was getting exasperated

"Yeah, also your wife's detail just checked in, they will be here soon" Cyrus told him.

"Great" Fitz said with sarcasm. "What are my instructions?"

"Keep it short, just say you are fine, drop the bomb, and tell them you need to rest and that I will be the one making further announcements and explanations" Cyrus repeated Olivia's words.

"Ok then, lets get this show on the road" He got up and went to get the tie Olivia wanted his to wear.

At 12 sharp Fitz walked to the podium, with an agent on each side, it wasn't usual, but it was agreed for security reasons and also in case he felt weak, he still felt a lot of pain when moving so they just wanted to be sure he nothing went wrong. He stood there and everyone went silent, he cleared his throat before he began talking.

"I know there has been a lot speculation about what happened in the last few days and I'm here to start clearing things up" He made a brief pause "I was shot a few days ago, but as you can all see, I am recovering just fine, as for the reason I got shot…" He paused again. "A few days before the election, one of my agents detected a threat for my family and to make sure we were all safe, he acted behind my back and sought the help of someone very trusted in this administration, they managed to fake my sons death, seeing it was the best way to make sure the rest of my family was safe and provide the time I needed to catch the man behind it."

The press went crazy with the news, everyone was talking at once, trying to get their questions answered. People on television were going crazy with the news. Fitz raised his had to get them to shut up but it barely did anything. He cleared his throat and started talking again over the noise.

"As you can all imagine, this a very complicated situation for my family, we need time to process and heal, and also to bask in the return of our beloved Jerry… I can't … I can't begin to explain the joy I feel for having my boy back, I…" Fitz began to choke up, he still wasn't able to talk about Jerry without being overcome with emotion. "I will be taking some time off to recover from my injury and to be with my children, I hope you all understand, and my chief of staff will be addressing you soon to provide a more detailed explanation. Thank you for your time" He stepped off the podium and walked away while the angry journalists screamed for answers.

* * *

Fitz got to the residence and found Jerry slumped on the couch listening to music.

"Hey bud, you ok?" he asked concerned

"Mom is here" Jerry told him

"Don't sound so happy" Fitz replied, he knew Mellie wasn't the kids' favorite person, but he didn't expect him to be so upset by her presence.

"Like I know she cares I'm alive, who wouldn't? but we both know she's not the type of mom that likes to be there, she not caring or nurturing or anything and I don't want to put up a show" Jerry explained. Fitz heart broke seeing his child feel so unloved by his mother.

"I know, but she has changed a little, I mean she did agreed to divorce me and leave your siblings with me, she just wants to make things right with you I guess" Fitz tried to console him.

"And yet, I don't see her trying to talk to me or anything, I actually have no idea where she is, she just saw me and told me how thrilled she was for me being ok gave me a hug and left" Jerry was in no mood to hang out with her anyway, but he was mad that because of Mellie, Olivia told him she wouldn't be able to visit him like she had been doing.

"How about I go change, you find Karen, and we watch a movie" Fitz suggested. Jerry agreed and they went to complete their respective tasks.  
After the press conference, Sunday was uneventful, Fitz spent time with his kids and let Cyrus and the gladiators deal with the mess.

* * *

They decided to have another press conference right away so they scheduled it for Monday morning, Cyrus had been briefed on the specific things he was able to say; Olivia and her gladiators had been working on a different version of the story to make it the official one, leaving out the real reason of her involvement, but the whole story would be delivered by Fitz himself, Cyrus would just be releasing some details to keep the people at bay, under the excuse of the investigation still being active. He showed up at 8am sharp and much like the previous day, the room went silent expecting some answers.

"Good morning" he started "I know you are expecting some answers after the shocking announcement the president made yesterday, and I am here to start explaining, however, there is still an ongoing investigation on the man responsible for the assassination attempt on the president and everyone that collaborated with him, so for security reason there are many things that we still can't make public" right after he said that the journalists started yelling again, they didn't even wait for the things he was allowed to say. Cyrus was getting concerned, since he knew they wouldn't be happy with the information he would provide. He started talking again.

"One of the agents closest to the president, Tom Larsen, received an anonymous message inviting him to join an organization, using his training and vast experience he realized it was probably a threat, since he found no way to trace the sender he took the bait and pretended to be interested. Being aware of his loyalty to the republic, this people barely gave away anything, but he managed to use all his resources to get more information and soon realized it was likely the same organization the president had been working on bringing down. To prove himself to them he was instructed with the task of killing Jerry Grant, if he did it, he was in, if he didn't they would kill him and find a way of hurting the president and the rest of his family. He opted against telling anything to the president, knowing it would blow his cover and put everyone in danger, and he looked for someone he could trust. He decided to ask for the help of our good friend and campaign manager Olivia Pope"

The insane wave of questions started again, and Cyrus was getting close to the end of the intel he would be providing. "He was with her the whole time, she broke contact with everyone and did everything in her power to ensure the safety of the president's oldest son" They were barely allowing him to talk with all the yelling and asking at the same time, Jerry had been watching and he decided to take some action, he figured his presence would be enough to shut everyone up and he had realized over the past few days that no one could get mad at the resurrected son of the President. He got dressed quickly and ran to the press room with his agents close behind him, they also had orders to stay at his side at all times when he left the residence. When he got there Abby was waiting right outside but by the time she realized what he was doing it was too late, he was already walking to the podium.  
"Morning uncle Cy" Cyrus jumped when he heard Jerry next to him. "Mind if I take over?" The crowd actually went quiet

Cyrus almost had a stroke, but he knew he couldn't make a scene right there.  
"What re you doing" he asked as calmly as he could muster.

"Just giving you a hand, trust me" he whispered to the old man. Cyrus reluctantly stepped off and allowed Jerry to take his place, but he stayed right there along with the agents.

"Hi… so as you can all see, I'm alive" there were a few chuckles around "I know this is really weird and you all have many questions, but this is a very delicate situation and also you are barking at the wrong tree" he paused to gather his thoughts. "Cyrus was not there and he is only working on the information he was given, as much as you yell at him he can't talk about something he doesn't know, and that's why I decided to come here, even though I know I'll get in trouble" people laughed again and they seemed much calmer.

"I will tell you as much as I can without compromising national security. After Tom began to take action to protect my family against the imminent threat he and Olivia approached me to tell me about their plan, I know I'm just a kid, but considering it involved me directly they asked me if I was willing to be on board with such a crazy plan, they wanted to have my consent, they told me that if was too uncomfortable with it they would try to figure out something else to do, but I love my family and I realized it was the best way to make sure they were safe, even with the pain they would endure thinking me dead" He let that part sink in, the press was going nuts writing stuff down and people were stuck to their televisions watching.

"My dad has always been there for me, he is my hero and he always does everything to make sure those he loves are safe, he is always protecting us and fighting for us and I just felt like I wanted to do the same for him this time" He put a lot of emotion in his voice, he knew his audience would love it, he knew he had them wrapped around his pinky.

"It was really hard for me so I can't even imagine how hard it was for them, but what matters now is that I am here and we are all safe. Ms Pope was great through all this, she was there for me when things got hard, we were living in hiding, we couldn't really go anywhere, but she always did her best to make feel at home or to cheer me up when I was down." Olivia was already there next to Abby, at first she nearly panicked thinking of the possible consequences, but then she realized he knew what he was doing and wouldn't screw up.

"Unfortunately, her cover was blown a few hours before the order to go after this guy was executed and we were found, Tom barely managed get here alive to alert my dad and he rushed to my aid like he always does, this man and his goons were after us, with his sick grudge against my dad's administration he wanted to finish what he had attempted before even though he knew it was over for him, Olivia never stopped protecting me, he told her he had nothing against her, but would kill her if she stood in his way, but she didn't budge, I tried to tell her she didn't have to but she said she had made a promise to protect me and would keep it as long as she could." His voice breaking, what he was saying was all true but he was putting up a show and people were buying it.

"Luckily for both of us my dad got there on time with his agents and a special forces team, but when he saw me outran them, and that's why he was shot" He was quiet after that, actually the whole room was quiet, he had managed to shut them up.

"Now you know what happened, my father will inform you of more official things when the time is right, thank you for listening, have a good day" He stepped of the podium and walked out, Cyrus dismissed everyone and walked out behind him. He stood in front of Abby and Olivia waiting for their reaction, but Cyrus beat them to it.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he said exasperated

"No Cyrus, this works, he nailed it" Olivia said with pride.

"What" Cyrus said confused

"She's right" Abby was checking social media on her phone "This is already trending, people loved it, before you went out they were al doubting Fitz, making up crazy theories, calling him a liar, and now he's a hero, best dad ever, and Jerry is also a hero, a brave soldier, spitting image of his father, and you are a saint" he said talking to Olivia.

"Jerry you didn't have to talk like that about me, it was enough you focused on your dad and yourself" Olivia told Jerry.

"But I had to, all I said it's true, own it Liv" He said with confidence.

"We should move this to our usual place so we can check all we need to" Abby suggested.

They started moving when a rather out of breath Fitz got to them, he looked confused.

"What was that" He said to Jerry

"It's ok dad, Liv said I nailed it and Abby is already analyzing stuff and she says it was a success" Jerry reassured Fitz.

"Abby we should get to work, so we can plan the next move" Olivia said to Abby and started walking away from them, Fitz saw her leave and almost went after her, but Cyrus stopped him.

"Sir you should be resting, you can't be running around if you want to heal properly" Cyrus told him sternly. Fitz turned to look at him beginning to get angry, he hated being treated like a child

"Dad he's right, and also I wanted to talk to you, let's go back upstairs, I'm hungry" He tugged at Fitz arm until they started moving. After they left Cyrus went to find Olivia and her team to work with them.

* * *

Fitz and Jerry found a very confused Karen when they went upstairs, she had turned on the tv to see the news anchors gushing over his brother and talking about how there couldn't be a dry eye among the viewers at home. Jerry explained in detail everything he did, then Fitz went to get Teddy and the four of them ate breakfast. Despite Mellie's alleged intentions to be there she was nowhere to be found. Fitz figured she was with Andrew, and thanked god his kids were not asking anything.

Karen left to Skype with a friend when she was finished and Teddy went with his nanny to take a nap. Fitz went to take his spot at the living room and Jerry followed him

"You said you wanted to talk to me?" Fitz told him

"Yeah, I just…" Jerry was unsure on how to broach the subject of Liv, Fitz looked at him expectantly.

"You can talk to me about anything you know that" Fitz told him

"I just wanted to ask you to not be mad at Liv ok, I know you suffered a lot, but she was just trying to protect us all and she took care of me and nursed me back to health and did everything for me. So just please be nice and focus on the fact that it's all over now and we are all fine" Jerry explained, he knew Liv was avoiding his dad because she didn't feel ready for what might happen. Fitz thought for a minute about his next words, he was shocked to see what his son thought of him.  
"Why would you say that, I'm to mad at her, I am deeply thankful and I love her, more than ever… What she did for you, for us, I have no words" Fitz tried to clear things up with his son.

"Really, then why haven't you told her that? and you know dad , you don't have the best track record with your reactions to… stuff" Jerry told him.

"Well I haven't told her because she keep running from me" Fitz said exasperated.

"Yeah because she's scared it might be kaput between you two, I told her to now worry so much but she won't listen and really dad you are not trying hard enough" Jerry answered equally exasperated.

"How much do you talk to her?" Fitz wondered out loud considering all the things Jerry knew.

"A lot dad, and I lived with her remember? I know stuff" he replied "You gotta step up your game"

"I guess I do" Fitz thought about what to do, since he was still in no shape to go chasing her around the white house or anywhere for that matter and she just ran whenever he was around; and he had been so focused on his kids that he put Liv on the back burner and now he felt really bad.

* * *

The rest of Monday and Tuesday went by in a blur, Olivia had left Abby in charge of things a the White House while she went with Huck to check on her office. Since Jerry's statement the phone had been ringing non-stop for both greedy reporters and knew clients. Most were simple cases but her popularity had gone through the roof. Fitz was still housebound, he was eagerly waiting for his doctors appointment on wednesday, the one week mark of the incident.

The doctor got there at 10am and checked on him. He told Fitz everything looked good and gave him the green light on going out of the house. He also told him that he would take off the stitches the next week and placed a new dressing on the wound.

Fitz felt real good, Jerry had told him that if he needed to find Olivia he would just ask her where she was and then let him know. When the doctor left he went to his office to check on things and start getting back to his normal life. He thought his day would be flawless, he worked until 5pm and then he called his son to come to the office so they would plan his visit to Olivia, but then the wicked witch of the west made an appearance. The moment she walked in the office his mood was ruined.

"Mellie, I had almost forgotten you were here" He said with disdain

"Well I'm not I was just taking care of some things" she said in a fake sweet tone.

"Is that how you call it now?" Fitz was in no mood for games.

"Fitz… I" She took a deep breath to avoid getting angry, she was up to something and knew she was on thin ice with him. "I have just been thinking, with Jerry's return, the possibilities, the opportunity we have to build something here" She said with cheer.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Fitz asked getting mad.

"You know, our family this is the moment to try again, people are expecting it, just imagine, this administration would become like a legend" Mellie was trying to sell her idea to Fitz, but her words and tone were angering Fitz like she had no idea. He was quiet trying to pick the right words and to control his temper he didn't want his blood pressure to go up and start bleeding.

"Are you out your fucking mind" He said failing to keep his cool "What fucking nonsense are you saying, have you forgot all that has happened, we are not a family, you have no interest in a family, you have made that pretty clear, and you come to tell me this after you have gone to your lover and ignored your children since you got here" He was almost screaming at her.

"I just needed time to think things through" She tried to explain

"No you are not, you just realized you could get more out of us, after what we went through you went back to your old ways but I'm not falling for it" Fitz said with determination.

"You have no idea what it was for me to give this up and now you are becoming this nation's hero and I have to sit back and watch, after all I did for you" Mellie lost her cool to, the nice person façade fell off.

"Fuck off Mellie, you deserve nothing, look I don't want to fight, just go back to whatever you were doing and leave whenever you think it's been long enough for the public to think you are a decent human being" He was already texting Jerry to meet him at the residence instead, what he didn't know was that Jerry had listened to the whole thing. Jerry saw the text and ran back to the residence to wait for him, he was deeply hurt, but he decided to put it aside for the moment.

"I have somewhere else to be please go" he told her as he walked past her to hold the door open.

"Are you going to see her?" Mellie said with hatred. Fitz was seeing red and was trying really hard to calm down, his side was hurting.

"Ok, I thought I would never get to say this, but you are not my wife, I'm free to do as I please and see whoever I want and It's none of your damn business, now leave before I have my agents escort you out of the property" He waited until she finally decided to move and left, he took a few deep breaths and went to find his son.

* * *

When Fitz arrived at the residence Jerry was there and he seemed to be deep in thought so Fitz approached him quietly and sat next to him.

"Everything ok?" Jerry was startled to see Fitz there

"Yeah, just thinking" he smiled at Fitz to avoid the questioning "Ready to get your girl?"

"More than anything" Fitz answered excited

"Well I texted her a few minutes ago and she told me she was on her way to do a little swimming" Jerry informed Fitz.

"Ok, yeah I know where she goes"

"Well then what are you waiting for? Go, and text me how things go, and you should bring her to the Blair house cause you can't be out too long, and that way you can be here, but not here" Jerry was thinking maybe he could order some dinner for them so it was ready when they came back.

"That is a good idea, thanks bud" he gave his son a one arm hug.

"Yeah, I know I'm brilliant, now go" he started pushing Fitz off the couch.

"Ok, ok I'm going, wish me luck" Fitz got up and left in a rush, he told his agents where he wanted to go and they prepared everything.

* * *

Olivia got to her swimming place and it was mostly empty, it was one of the reasons she went there, there was barely anyone from the staff and the pool was all to herself almost all the time. There had been a guy when she arrived but he left a few minutes later. She loved swimming and the water was quite calming, just what she needed. During one of her laps she got the strange feeling someone was watching her, and when she got to the edge of the pool she almost stopped breathing.

"Fitz what are you doing here? How did you know I was here?" She said anxiously

"Well I needed to talk to you and Jerry told me where to find you" He answered

"Couldn't it wait, I'm kind of in the middle of something right now" Olivia was getting nervous

"No, because you keep avoiding me so now that the doctor gave me the clear I came to you" Fitz had squatted so he could be closer to her.

"I am not going to stop what I'm doing, you will have to wait until I'm available" She put her googles back on and she started swimming again.

"She will try to get away from me guys" He told his agents and he started taking his coat off, then his shoes, socks and belt and sat on the edge to get his feet in, then he slowly got in the water and started walking towards her, when she turned he would be right in her way.

His agents looked at each other wondering if they should go in, Fitz had given Hal a few days of vacation to thank him for his hard work, so before he left he left Lucas on charge and told him to not be more than five feet away from him if they were outside his office or the residence.

"Should we go in" one of them asked Lucas

"I don't know, we are surrounding the pool and we cleared the place, it's unlikely someone could rush in and hurt him" Lucas told the guy "But we do have orders and he is too far away from us in case of an emergency, also there's only been a week since he got shot, what if he gets a cramp or something" The agents had ben on edge since the incident, they felt guilty about letting him get hurt and were set on not making any mistakes.

"Mark, Brian, George, get in there and stand around him" The three agents nodded reluctantly and proceeded to also take off their Jackets, belts and shoes. When they were getting in Olivia was already getting to Fitz.

She was a bit upset about Fitz showing up there so she was making a huge effort to focus on her swimming, when she got to Fitz she almost crashed into him.

"What did you do? are you insane? you have an open wound it can't get pool water" She screamed at him.

"It's fine, the doctor put a waterproof dressing on it, and I really wasn't willing to wait and give you the chance to get away" he was really amused by her reaction. "Can we talk now please" he pleaded.

He reached for her face and gently pulled off the googles, then her swimming cap,a after he tossed them away he caressed her face and looked right in her eyes. He had planned on saying many things, a speech to let her know he wasn't mad, to thank her for what she did for his family and to say he loved her, but at that moment having her right in front of him, so close with her in his hands his mind had gone to mush. Fitz couldn't manage to form coherent thought, it had been so long since she was that close to him, and he was finally getting his precious Livvy back. He just stayed there looking at her for what seemed like an eternity, her mind was pretty much in the same state as his.

All he wanted to do was kiss her, he got his face real close to hers, she could feel his breath on her face.  
"Kiss me Olivia" He whispered, their noses where touching, she looked at him hesitantly  
"Kiss me, you know you want to" He said, their lips almost touching  
"Kiss me" He repeated, his voice barely audible.

Her breath hitched and next thing he knew, her lips where crashing against his, they kissed like their lives depended on it.

Her body pressed tight against his, he removed his hands from her face and wrapped them around her back, her hands around his neck, she started running her hand through his hair.

Their tongues were dueling for control, both of them trying to communicate the love the felt for each other through that kiss, and craving the contact after they time they spent apart. He never wanted to let her go.

When they finally separated, they were both gasping for air, he rested his forehead against hers just basking in the moment.

"I Love you" he whispered "I love you so much"

"I love you too" she collapsed into his chest and hugged him, he held her tight.

At that moment, without speaking another word, they knew everything would be fine eventually because they loved each other and that was all that mattered.

_**AN2: Finally! they saw each other and they kissed and he is not mad. They still need to talk and figure out how they will proceed, but at least they know wha they want. Mellie got the same version of the story as the press, she doesn't need to know about Rowan, but I'm not a big fan of writing her so I'm just telling you guys here. I will try to update soon. Please let me know what you think :) **_


	17. Chapter 17

_**AN: Sorry for the late update, it's just finals are kicking my butt (I was actually working on this 15 page essay I have due for wednesday and next thing I knew I was working on this), and I had the brilliant idea to start a new story on the little free time I got last week instead of finishing this chapter, sorrynotsorry I couldn't help myself. Anyway I hope you guys enjoy :)**_

* * *

Fitz and Olivia stood there in the middle of the pool just holding each other for a while, but eventually he started feeling cold and he figured she must be getting cold too.

"Liv, as much as I'm loving this, maybe we should get out of the pool" He said sweetly, his words snapped her back to reality and she pulled back too fast, leaving him slightly startled.

"Oh god, Fitz what were you thinking, you can't get sick, you were shot a week ago" she was deeply concerned about the consequences of his little stunt.

"Livvy, please calm down, I'll be fine" he gently put his hands on the sides of her arms to make her look at him.

"Ok, but you have to get out and get some dry clothes" She told him sternly

"No, we are getting out and you are coming with me" she looked at him like he was crazy "I'm not leaving this place without you, and I do need to warm up soon, so unless you want me to jump in the shower here with you, we are leaving together" he was leaving no room for negotiation.

Fitz grabbed her hand and started walking towards the edge of the pool where the ladder was, the agents inside the pool followed him. He was helped out by both, agents inside and outside of the pool he was still not supposed to do any type of effort. Agent Lucas had already ordered for towels to be brought, and Fitz was quickly wrapped with them; when Olivia got out they also got her. Finally the agents got out and they waited for orders.

"Gentlemen, sorry about that" Fitz told them.

"It's ok sir, you did what you had to do" Lucas said to Fitz. "We should get going, but I don't think it's a good idea for you to go with wet clothes too long sir, so hmm, I can trade pants with you sir and you can put on your dry jacket after taking off the wet shirt too and maybe Miss Pope can go put on some dry clothes while you change" he said nervously, he wasn't comfortable with telling his boss what to do, even if they were just suggestions for his own well being.

"That's not necessary, I'll take the shirt off, that should be enough, and Liv sweetheart, you should go change I'll wait right here" he told Liv.

"I insist sir, I vowed to protect you from all harm" Lucas was adamant to make sure nothing went wrong while he was in charge.

"You should do what he says Fitz, you can't get sick" Olivia said to him "Also, that way you'll think twice before dong this again and leaving half your agents with soaking wet clothes" She had a playful smirk on her face and Fitz thought it was the most adorable think he'd ever seen, he finally gave in and both of them changed quickly, she wasn't sure about going to the White House with him but she knew there was no point in fighting him about it.

While Fitz waited for her to come out he decided to text Jerry to let him know he had got her and that they were going to the Blair House soon.

"Kid, I got her, had to jump in the pool but it's all good now, we'll be there soon" he wrote to his son

"Ok… Im happy for u dad, i'll ask the cook to start dinner" Jerry texted back

* * *

After answering the text from his dad, Jerry went to find one of the chefs to ask him for a nice dinner to be prepared at the Blair House. He went to the kitchen and looked for one of the chefs he actually knew to ask for the favor.

"Chef Cooper" Jerry said loudly

"Young Mr. Grant" he answered politely

"Please don't call me that, my mother doesn't live here anymore, it's not necessary" he replied

"But she is visiting" the chef really wasn't into being yelled at by Mellie

"Not for long, and she is not the first lady anymore, she's got no authority in this place so just chill please" Jerry told Cooper reassuringly.

"Ok, Mr. Jerry what do you need?" he asked

"Just Jerry please, and here's the deal, my dad is having kind of a date tonight so he needs some food to be prepared and taken to the blair house" Jerry explained

"So, Just Jerry, what kind of food, cause your mom has some" the chef what cut short by Jerry

"No, god no, my mom, she doesn't, no" he went to the nearest wood table and knocked with his fist "Knock on wood man, my mom is gone for good, just no" the chef chuckled and nodded

"Then who is it?" Cooper inquired

"You are so nosy bro, but I'll tell you ok, just in case you know if she likes anything special" The Chef had a puzzled expression on his face, that meant he knew this person and he actually had an idea. "It's Olivia Pope ok, just don't go telling people"

"I knew it!" he exclaimed "I've always thought she and Mr. President would make a nice couple, way better than him with the wicked witch" after that last part he shut his mouth and his eyes went wide, he suddenly remembered who he was talking too, but Jerry just laughed

"I always thought of her more like Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter but that's good too" he said laughing. "Anyway, please make something like comfort food, like to just chill and cuddle while watching a movie" he thought that might be fitting for the evening.

"I can do that, and I do know a few things she likes to eat" Cooper was on board and that made Jerry quite happy.

"Cool, I'm gonna go take care of a few other things" Jerry quickly left and went to his fathers room to find him some warm comfortable clothes to wear after he showered. He also wanted to get Liv some of his dad's clothes since he figured she had something very professional and uncomfortable to wear in her gym bag.

He went to the closet and looked for some nice pj,'s, he got his dad a navy blue sweatshirt with the presidential seal in it, a white t-shirt and flannel pants, he got the gray navy sweatshirt and another t-shirt for Liv, but when he looked at the pants he realized they were way to big for her and doubted she wanted to go around with pants that didn't stay on or no pants at all; after all the whole point was to make her feel comfortable.

Jerry thought about Karen's clothes but figured those could be a bit too small, so in the end he went to his own closet and grabbed a pair of sweatpants. When he was done with the clothes he remembered they would need toiletries, so he ran back to Fitz' room and ran into the bathroom to get them, he then went to find some nice warm blankets and a laundry basket to carry everything. At last he went to find a few movies, he got Casablanca, Pretty in Pink, and Silver Linings Playbook, he knew Olivia loved those films.

"Guys, we are going to the Blair house now" he announced to his agents, ho had been following him as he ran around the white house.

They took golf cart through the tunnel and got there in no time, Chef cooper was already there making arrangements with the Blair House Staff. He got to one of the living rooms closest to the entrance from the tunnel and started setting up stuff there, then he went and put the clothes in adjacent guest rooms, each of them had a bathroom and his brain couldn't even think of the shower situation going any other way. Then he asked, Vince, one of his agents, to help him transfer the tv and blu-ray from one of the rooms to the living room.

Copper was setting up on one of the dining rooms but Jerry told him to set up on the coffee table of the living room where he placed the tv. When he was done he told most of the staff to make themselves scarce and turn in for the night, and whenever they were done with the food, Copper would dismiss the rest. On the way back to the White House he texted Fitz "Evrythng is done, got u and liv some clothes, hers on first room on right urs on the next one cause I cant think of it any other way without risk of trauma. Good luck."

* * *

Fitz chuckled when he got the text, they were almost there, and after they entered the White House they went to the tunnel right away, he understood Jerry, but planned on going for his clothes and joining her in the other room. They rode in the golf cart in silence, he had his arm around her and her head was resting on his chest.

"Liv" she turned to see him "Jerry got the first room on the right ready to use, I just have to go get my clothes" she just nodded

When they arrived she went straight to the room, she hated the feeling she got if she didn't shower right away after swimming, she felt the pool water made her skin feel weird and smell like bleach. She left her bag on the bed and took out her toiletries, then she rushed into the bathroom and locked the door, she knew Fitz all too well.

Fitz went quickly to the other room and fetched his clothes, then he went to the her room and heard the water running, he got excited, only to find out she had locked the door. He reluctantly went back to his room, but he grabbed the pant suit from her bag so she didn't even get the idea of putting it on and then saying she had to leave or something. He noticed the sweatpants were not his and let out a small chuckle. He texted Jerry "Are the sweatpants you left for Liv yours?"

"Yeah dad, urs are way to large for her, and she had to wear smthng, dont say a word, I dont want to be scarred 4 life"

Fitz laughed at his son's answer, but figured it made sense, no kid wants to think of their parents in that way. He finally went to take shower and he was done before she did, Jerry had also texted him about the way he prepared the living room so he went for a cup of tea and sat on a couch waiting for her, he was peacefully relaxing until he heard her scream his name.

"Fitzgerald, did you take my clothes" he realized he was in trouble, he got to the room but she had already locked that door too.

"I did, my son went to great lengths to make sure we had a nice comfortable evening so I wanted to make sure you stuck to the plan" he was trying hard not to laugh

"We'll see about that, just give me my clothes" she told him sternly

"Come on Liv, you love my navy sweatshirt and Jerry got it for you and kindly volunteered his pants, knowing mine wouldn't fit you, are you going to turn him down?" Fitz wasn't above using a little emotional blackmail. "Also, are you really going to unlock that door for me while only wearing your underwear" With that last part she knew she had lost that battle so she went and got dressed with the clothes Jerry had left and Fitz returned to the living room.

Olivia found Fitz sitting in the living room quietly sipping this tea, he seemed to be deep in thought so she cleared her throat. He snapped back to reality and turned to her.  
"You look beautiful" he said with a smile, she blushed and went to sit next to him.

"Thanks" she answered after she had settled on the couch. Fitz just stared at her for a moment.

"Jerry left these here" Fitz said pointing to the movies "He said they are some of your favorites." Olivia looked at the titles and smiled, she did love those movies. "Which would you like to watch?" he asked her.

"Casablanca would be nice" she said with a smile

"Then Casablanca it is" he went to put the disc on the blu-ray player and Olivia started looking at the food, she uncovered a large bowl and found it was full of pop corn, she also found a wine looking bottle but upon closer look it turned out to be just grape juice, and attached to it was a small note. It was from Jerry "Sorry, no wine for you guys today, dad can't drink yet and you guys better be clear headed while you figure things out" She let out a small chuckle, the kid thought of everything, she made a mental note to give him a piece of her mind later for the ambush.

"What is it?" Fitz was curious for the reason she laughed

"That son of yours really thought of everything" she held up the bottle for him to see. After he realized it was just juice he laughed too.

"Well, I can't drink, but I'm sure I can find some real wine for you" he went back to his sit on the couch with the remote in hand.

"It's ok I got pop corn" she said grabbing the bowl from the table

"You should eat some real food too" he started uncovering the rest of the plates and found his new favorite, fish sticks and mac n cheese, he also found pasta with meatballs and a great looking vegetable lasagna.

"I was going to say no, but that actually looks great" she leaned to the table "Its that Chef Coopers Vegetable lasagna? I love it" she said excitedly.

"Looks like it" he said a but more serious than he intended, and he slumped back on the couch. He realized what he did and tried to hide his sudden change in demeanor, but she noticed.

"Everything ok?" she was concerned, and couldn't recall what could have gone wrong.

"Yeah, all good, lets hmm… load this plates with food and start the movie" He moved to get a plate but she grabbed his arm and he stopped.

"Fitz" she said gently "If we are going to try… things again we should try and be more open, I mean we could have saved ourselves some time if I hadn't been avoiding you for so long"

His expression immediately softened and he took her hand in his, he was quiet for a moment gathering his thoughts.

"I just… I should know this things" he looked up at Olivia, she was a puzzled expression on his face. "Like, what kind of man claims to love a woman more than anything and doesn't know her favorite movies or food, seriously I only know about the wine and the pop corn" he finally said, feeling exasperated.

"That is because we have gone through so much weird crap, we never took the time for that, we've been worried with so many things, also I did spend a lot of time with Jerry and Chef Cooper knows everyones favorite, food is his thing, and we can catch up on everything now" she said getting closer to him and lifting his chin so he he looked at her.

"Still, you do know so many things about me, I know it because of all the things you've done for me, I guess I just didn't pay enough attention, and don't say it's because I had too much on my plate because you did too… I feel like a total idiot" he moved away from her and looked down at his hands.

She felt unsure of what to do, she realized he felt shame for the things he did wrong in the past, it was a feeling she was quite familiar with after faking Jerry's death. They both had made many mistakes in their relationship in the past, they had neglected each other for the sake of many other things they thought were more important, but she knew there was no point in dwelling on that. Fitz was divorced, her father was gone as well as her mother, his family was complete again and it was time to move on and just make sure they didn't make the same mistakes again.

Without even thinking about it much she got up and went to the end of the couch were he was slumped on, she stood right in front of him and he finally looked up, she took his face in her hands and leaned down until she was just inches away form his face, she climbed on his lap and straddled him, and before he even knew what was going on she kissed him with all that she had, it was her turn to reassure him that they were going to be great, at first he was startled but then he kissed her back with just as much passion. His hands began to roam her back, she was running her hand through his hair, their hearts were pounding, her cheeks flushed and a soft moan escaped her lips. They both got caught up in the moment and he started lifting her sweatshirt, he had already got his hands under her clothes, he ached the contact; but when she caught herself starting to lift his sweatshirt she realized what was happening and gathered as much will power as she could to break the kiss.

"We can't… you can't… too soon" she was still trying to catch her breath, she tried getting off of him but he held her tight..

"I guess you are right, but when the doctor clears me…" he gently grabbed her face and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

"We should… hmm… get back to the movie" she was still dazed from their brief make out session.

Fitz finally allowed her to move, but only to sit right next to him he had his arm around her and she ended up cuddling on his side. He played the movie and they stayed like that for a while, about half way through it they remembered they were hungry and finally got some food. When they were done, Olivia resumed her earlier position until the movie was over.

"Great film" Fitz told her after he turned the tv off.

"I agree" she was pouring some more grape juice into their glasses. Fitz sat back on the couch and just stared at her, Olivia could see the love in his eyes and it made her insides flutter. She gave him back his glass and without breaking eye contact he slightly raised it.

"Here's looking at you kid" he told her sweetly before taking a sip. Liv smiled at him and took a sip herself.

After a few more moments of quiet bliss, her brain started dragging her back to reality and told her it was getting late so it was time to leave.

"I should go" his face fell after hearing those words

"No you don't" Fitz placed his glass back on the coffee table and scooted closer to her, then he took her glass and put it next to his. He gently took her face in his hands and locked eyes with her. "Please stay" he whispered "I need you, just don't go, stay with me"

The way he was looking at her melted her and she forgot why she wanted to leave in the first place. She held his gaze for a few more seconds and took a deep breath to compose herself.

"Ok, I will stay, but no funny business" he smiled at her and held out his pinky, she entwined her little finger with his.

Olivia told him she was tired and got up to go get ready for bed, he did the same and headed back to his assigned room where he had left his toothbrush, when he was done he went back to her room and pulled back the covers of the bed got in. She came out of the bathroom a few minutes later and found him already falling asleep. The moment she hit the bed he pulled her closer to him, and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I love you so much" he whispered in her ear.

"I love you too" she answered as she placed her hands on top his.

After a few minutes they were both sound asleep peacefully and content in each others arms.

* * *

_**AN2: So this too are finally getting somewhere, lets hope nothing goes wrong anymore. Please let me know what you guy think :)**_


	18. Chapter 18

_**AN: Finally an update! (sorry for the delay please don't hate me). So things are finally looking up for these guys, they might actually get to be happy now. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy :)**_

* * *

Fitz woke up in a state of pure bliss, with the woman he loved snuggled up with him, he couldn't remember when was the last time he had slept so well. He stayed there for a while just watching her sleep, he thought it was the most beautiful sight to wake up to. He laid his head back just enjoying the moment, the feel of her next to him, he felt like things were finally right in his life. He saw it was already 10 am, and figured she would be up soon so he went to get breakfast.

Olivia woke up to an empty bed a few minutes later, she thought it was odd that he had left her alone, but then she found a note on her bedside table that said he had gone to get something to eat. She was also incredibly happy, she hadn't felt so good in a very long time, so she didn't care it was quite late for her to still be in bed, she figured she deserved a morning off. She went to brush her teeth and then went back to bed to wait for him.

A little while later Fitz returned with a tray in his hands, he had gotten fresh fruit and pancakes, she looked at him with the goofiest smile on her face, that totally matched his.

"Morning beautiful" he said to her.

"Morning Handsome" she returned the greeting. "Breakfast in bed?"

"Of course, I wanted us to have a nice relaxed morning, the world will be fine without us for a little while" he carefully placed the tray in her lap and then got back in bed next to her. He grabbed the maple syrup and stared pouring it over the pancakes, she had already started with fruit, she took a bite and then fed him a few pieces. "I wish we could do this every morning" he said after they had finished the fruit.

"Well I don't think we could sleep in every day, but maybe on weekends" she continued eating, trying to not make a big deal of the fact that she had just implied they would be spending their mornings together. It was the first time she actually talked about them having the life they wanted like a regular couple. Fitz was speechless, his emotions were going wild, he wanted to talk about it, make plans, talk about the future, but he took a deep breath and decided to not push it and just enjoy the moment.

* * *

Jerry was in the residence, quietly enjoying a bowl of cereal, he had wanted to wait for Karen to have breakfast, and he knew Fitz would not be there, but then he got really hungry so he started without her. About halfway through his bowl of cereal Karen finally walked in, she was out of her pjs already and looked like she had been up for a while.

"Is dad here yet?" Karen asked in a low voice

"Not yet, do you need anything?" Jerry felt something was wrong, he just hoped it had nothing to do with Olivia being with Fitz.

"I just wanted to ask him if mom is staying much longer" Karen sounded sad, and Jerry knew it had to be Mellie's fault, he'd been wondering what his next move should be since the previous night after he was done preparing the evening for his dad. He was trying to be cool about it, but she made just made it really difficult.

"I'm not sure he knows, I think she wants to stay long enough to look like a caring mother" Jerry remembered what he heard his dad tell her.

Karen scoffed "I'm just worried she might want a little more than that" Jerry waited for her to continue, he knew Karen was one to keep things to herself so he stayed quiet, hoping it would encourage her to continue. She stayed quiet for a while and Jerry kept eating his cereal, then at last she talked again.

"She texted me last night, she said she was sorry for not spending much time with us" Karen started, Jerry put his spoon down and gave her his full attention "She said she wanted to have breakfast with us, I got up on time but she was not here and I couldn't find her so I went to Andrew's office" Jerry worried the incident from months ago had been repeated.

"Oh god, they weren't" he said.

"No, that wasn't it, I didn't find them there actually" she cleared to Jerry. "After not finding her in his office I went to her old office and she was there, with him, and he seemed upset actually… can't blame him though" She looked down again, Jerry couldn't believe the nerve of that woman, he had an idea where his sister's story was going.

"She was telling him she had to get dad back, and us, but not because she cared" her eyes were beginning to water "She said it was unfair how much attention he was getting, how much people loved him now, that it was unfair he was getting to the best part of his administration and she wouldn't be getting anything from it" he voice was breaking and Jerry was getting so mad he resembled Fitz after he talked to Mellie.

"Andrew told her he thought they would get together, that he had been planning for it and she just told him they could keep their current arrangement and that she didn't care if dad kept his… I can't repeat that word… as long as she got what she deserved" Jerry was seeing red, he didn't expect anything else coming from her and he could take it but he wouldn't let her hurt his baby sister.

"Did you say anything, cause she didn't come here"

"No, I just ran from there and texted her that we wanted to sleep in like really late and to not come" Karen was in tears so Jerry reached for her hand.

"Don't worry sis, she will be out of our lives soon enough I got this" he left his unfinished breakfast and went to change his clothes.

* * *

Jerry knew it was way too late to barge in during Abby's mooring briefing, so to be sure people was there he tweeted he had something important to say and that he was headed to the press room at the moment, he only hoped no one stopped him before he got there.

He got there and it seemed like Olivia's team were not paying much attention to his twitter account so he braced himself and walked to the podium. The place was just filling with people, he figured it made sense because of the short notice, he waited a couple of minutes to talk. He would have liked to wait longer but that meant risk of getting caught.

"Good morning" he began "Again, I am not supposed to be here, I guess I should start asking for permission" he chuckled softly "I just really wanted to get something out there, I know there have been rumors about my family, my mom to be exact, that she is back and I've heard people want my parents back together, so I'm here to clear that up. My parents did not split because I supposedly died so they are not getting back together just because I'm alive, and believe me when I tell you, that is the last thing me or my sister want and she is only here because she is supposed to. For a very long time my dad tried to protect us from realizing what was going on with them, but we got older and we caught on, we know he only wants what's best for us" He took a deep breath, and paused for a little while, he had his performance well planned.

"Our mom was never the motherly, caring and nurturing type of person… when my dad married her, he thought they both wanted the same things in life, but I guess she actually never wanted kids…" Jerry allowed his voice to break a little bit.

"She liked the idea of a family with him, but that's it, she knew it was what was expected of her after marrying someone like my dad. I guess things were ok at first, but at some point my dad realized what she really felt and they started to have issues, I guess that is why my dad sent us to boarding school, he just wanted to protect us" he paused again for dramatic effect.

"I remember, as I got older and started noticing things, that my dad was always trying so hard to make things work and keep our family together, he really wanted to make his marriage work, and I guess sometimes it seemed like she did too so he kept trying. After my dad was elected things got a little better, my mom was excited about the new chapter in their lives, then she had my little brother, but soon enough…" another dramatic pause.

"Soon enough, things went back to the way they were before, we almost came home at the time, but my dad didn't want us to be hurt or anything, she liked what she had being with my dad, and did what she knew was expected from her… My dad was hurt to see what was going on, but he didn't want to accept that was it, he just tried so hard, I know that, I saw him… Look guys, I know my dad cheated and that was wrong, but can you imagine how hard it must be to be fighting alone for your marriage, to be the only one who wants to make things work…" Jerry had it all planned to make his dad look like the greatest guy ever, so he had to tackle the cheating issue.

"I guess that when I was gone my dad just realized he had been fighting a lost cause, and he wanted to be better for my siblings, so they could have more stability. He knew it was time for both of them to move on separately, at first she didn't want to give up what she had, but I guess she does care about us, like in her own way, so she realized it was for the best" He paused one last time.

"So no, they are not getting back together, my dad, and us, we are much better now, more united as a family. I know you guys expected her to stay for long because of me and stuff, and she was planning to, but now that the truth is out she will leave, and I kindly ask you all to not hate on her. It's the way things are supposed to be, it's what is better for all of us. Whatever happened before, it's in the past, and we just want to look forward, the best is yet to come, thank you" Jerry wiped his eyes with his hand and stepped of the podium, people were so shocked by his revelations, the room was silent.

About halfway through his speech the gladiators had gathered outside in shock and panic, they had no idea the effect his words would have, but they did knew it would have been really bad if they had forcefully taken him from the podium. Cyrus had been there too, he was almost purple, he had left running to the Blair House to get Fitz so he would fix things.

Abby went up there right after Jerry, since one of the most pressing questions was why Fitz was not there, if he had sent his son or something; it was just a few people thinking conspiracy, but that's all it took to create an issue if it was not fixed soon. She simply told them that no one saw it coming, and that after he went out they thought it was best to just let him get it out of his chest. She went for the emotional explanation so they saw he was allowed to speak freely because he seemed troubled by the things he said, and like he said, he wanted to move on. Then she made up Fitz had a doctors appointment so he didn't realize what was happening until it was almost over, and that he would come out to talk to them, but that he needed to make sure his son was ok first.

* * *

Fitz and Olivia were just finishing their breakfast and having a good time when Cyrus abruptly interrupted them.  
"Fitzgerald, you need to get your ass out of bed and into the press briefing room now" He screamed.

"What the hell Cyrus" Fitz yelled back.

"Your son, he decided to go out your crappy marriage to the press, so get your ass there to do damage control and then go knock some sense into that kid" Cyrus was so altered the veins in his head were throbbing. Olivia took her phone out and started looking up the incident. She found many quotes on twitter and the youtube video.

"Oh god" that was all she managed to say. She started watching the video with Fitz, while Cyrus just stood there waiting for them to get up.

"He has that look on his face" Olivia told Fitz

"What look?" Fitz asked her

"The same one you get when you want to rip someones head off" Olivia explained

"Something must have happened" Fitz said, concern clear in his voice.

"You two, I hate to break your parent moment, but we have a situation" Cyrus couldn't stop thinking of all that could go wrong.

"Cyrus, calm down, it's not that bad, I think he knew exactly what he was doing, people is just hating Mellie, and maybe questioning Fitz a little, but Abby wrapped it up quite nice so we have time, everything will be fine as long as Fitz goes up there to answer a few things"

"Fine, just hurry and get there" He was finally leaving the room but Fitz stopped him.

"I know Abby just said it to give us time, but I will go see my son first Cyrus" Fitz said adamantly

"But, you have to take care of this" Cyrus yelled again

"My son is way more important, you have no say in this" Cyrus just huffed and left the room at last.

Olivia got up and quickly changed into the clothes she had in her bag, then she and Fitz left to go back to the White House. On their ride back she told Fitz he should go get camera ready, that she would go talk to Jerry. They got to the residence in no time and Fitz went straight to his room to freshen up and get dressed. Olivia gave some instructions to her team and then she went to Jerry's room, she found him sitting on the floor leaning against his bed.

"Hey kid" she sat next to him

"I'm sorry if I caused my dad any problems, I didn't mean to" he said quietly

"Well, you said some harsh things, we just want to make sure you thought about this, I know you've had issues with her, but she is your mom and it will affect her a lot, what if you regret this later?" Olivia had no idea what had happened, and she thought he decided to go out there on an impulse. Jerry started tearing up and she realized things were more serious than she thought.

"Hey, what is going on? Just talk to me ok, I can't help you unless you tell me what's wrong" she put her arm around his shoulders and used her other hand to lift his chin.

"She doesn't care about me Liv, she doesn't love me or my siblings, she only cares about herself" he started crying harder. "I thought she came because she cared a little, and that she had to stay to look good, but that wasn't it, she doesn't care even a little. She just came to see what she could get from my return" Jerry nearly screamed the last part, Liv could see how hurt he was.

"She doesn't love me Liv, she never did, dad said she had changed but it was all a lie, she wanted to get us back in her trap to get the profits of the resurrected child" It was breaking Olivia's heart to see him like that, the kid who was always cracking a joke and making others feel better.

"I guess I already knew, I knew she doesn't give a damn about me, but it still hurts" he was finally calming down. "I'll be fine don't worry, I don't need her, I have my siblings and my dad and you right?" The way Jerry looked at her, he didn't look like the confident teen who could take on anything, she saw the helpless little boy who had been neglected by the person who was supposed to love him the most.

"Of course you do" she told him as she hugged him tightly, she had tried to fight the tears, but she gave in.

Jerry broke from her embrace and took a deep breath, he wiped his face on his sleeve before he talked again "I will be fine, it's over now, I'm ok" he tried to reassure Olivia, he saw how concerned she was. "You know what really makes me feel better about all this?"

"What?" she asked him

"Teddy will never feel this way, he is too young to remember anything that has happened, he will grow up with a loving family and he will never know this pain and that's all that matters" He looked a lot calmer and Olivia smiled at him, she thought that kid was something special.

"Buddy I am so sorry" Both of them turned their heads to the door to see Fitz standing there with tears in his eyes as well, he had gotten there soon after Liv. There was a turmoil of emotions going on inside him, rage because of Mellie, heartbreak for his son, and profound love towards Olivia for the way she was there for Jerry.

Olivia got up from the floor and went to him, she knew what he was thinking so she pushed him softy out of the room and told Jerry they would be right back.

"He must have heard a conversation we had, she will pay for this" Fitz said through gritted teeth

"Fitz, please just focus on him, I will handle her" Olivia told him.

"Are you sure?" he asked her

"I am, that woman will never get near any of you again, not on my watch" Olivia placed her hands on his chest to calm him down.

"Ok" He kissed he forehead and walked back into Jerry's room. Olivia left immediately to find Mellie.

* * *

Mellie was in her old office still trying to recover from the shock, she still couldn't believe her own kid had turned against her. When she turned on the tv and saw the speech she started throwing things around, she was losing it and Andrew told her she got what she deserved and left her alone. After a little while she calmed down and started planning how to fix things. She was nursing a drink in her hand when Olivia walked in.

"Mellie, I need to talk to you" Olivia told her.

"What the hell are you doing here, get the hell out of my office" Mellie yelled at her.

"First of all, this is not your office anymore, you are not First Lady, remember? and Second, you don't tell me what to do" Olivia knew it was better to stay calm but she found it quite hard.

"Who the hell do you-" Mellie started again but Olivia interrupted her.

"Don't bother, I just came here to tell you to pack your crap and get out of here, and since I'm feeling generous I will give you 30 minutes" Mellie opened her mouth but Olivia kept going "If you don't do as I say, I will destroy you, I will bury you 30 feet into the ground. Whatever effect Jerry's words had on your image and the public is nothing, you hear me, NOTHING, compared to what I will do to you if you don't disappear from our lives forever"

"This is my family-" Mellie tried to protest

"No, you gave up that right long ago, and you will not mess with them ever again. I've put up with you enough, but it's over. If you ever hurt MY family again, I will make your life a living hell" Olivia had gotten really close to Mellie, and she had backed up actually fearing Olivia, she had never seen her like that and she knew Olivia meant what she was saying. "Leave, this is your only warning, don't test me. If you try anything, there will be nothing left to rescue after I'm done with you, so just go while you still can do something with your life"

Mellie thought about fighting back when Olivia first got there, but soon after she found herself intimidated by her, she didn't want to unleash Olivia's rage against her, if it had been Fitz she thought she could have done something, but with her it was just to risky. She realized she didn't even have Andrew anymore so she decided to do as Olivia said and just leave.

"Fine, I will go, there is no need to make this worse" Mellie finally said.

"I'm glad we got this settled, these gentlemen will accompany you to get your things and then drive you to the airport" Olivia pointed to the agents standing by the door. If it wasn't clear before to Mellie that it was over for her, it certainly was at that moment, when she saw Olivia even had authority over the SSA, so she reluctantly nodded.

* * *

Fitz had talked to both of his older kids and they told him about both conversations they heard. He felt really bad about it, but the kids told him they would be fine and that they were just happy it was over. After a while Jerry was back to his old self and kicked his dad out of the residence to go fix whatever mess he had made. He met with Olivia on the way to the conference room where her team usually worked.

"How are the kids" She asked Fitz.

"They are ok" he answered with a smile. "How is the issue"

"It's handled" Olivia reached for his hand and for a moment he was so shocked he nearly forgot how to walk.

They walked into the conference room holding hands, he team stared at them in surprise until Huck cleared his throat and they pretended nothing had happened. They decided Fitz had to say he was shocked and sad he had failed to protect his children the way he wanted to. He had to follow along everything Jerry and said, and say that he was just looking forward to improving as a father and leave the past behind.

They knew people would want more so they were planning a couple of father son interviews to show the new era on the Grant family; and to divert the attention form it at the moment Olivia told him to finish the official explanation of Jerry's fake death right after.  
They had been working on what to tell the press about faking Jerry's death, they considered making up some story about how they did it, but it would end up involving things inside the hospital and thought it was risky even though everyone there had signed non-disclosure agreements about the night Jerry was there. In the end they decided to take the risk of saying very little. Fitz had to say the details of the plan had to be kept confidential to protect the people involved and not give any ideas to the wrong people who might be watching. Then he was supposed to say a fake name for Rowan, Benjamin, say it was an alias, and that his real identity and photograph had to also be kept confidential for national security, since he had deals with other enemies of the republic. Huck had produced fake medical examination and death certificate for Elijah Pope dying of natural cuases, so Olivia could take them to the museum and say she had wanted to keep it in the family and had already made a small memorial for him; she had gotten a plot at the cemetery and buried an empty casket. That way the "respectable" museum working Elijah and the terrorist would be completely separated.

Fitz delivered his speech and people seemed to be happy about it, everything said on the media basically put Jerry in a very high place for actually asking people to not hate on his mother, they kept saying it showed how well Fitz had raised him and how noble he was. They were also beginning to forgive Fitz' infidelity and say how good he was to put up with that woman and fight to keep his family together for so long. Also he had added an apology to his kids for not fixing things sooner and people had melted on the spot.

* * *

Things seemed to be finally going well for them, and even if Mellie defied Olivia, no one would believe a single word she said. After a couple of days the chaos had died down and Fitz was recovering really well, also Olivia had agreed to stay at the Blair House for the rest of the week. They knew it was time to start planning what to do about them, so on saturday morning Olivia decided to bring it up. She was with him at the Oval as he was beginning to catch up on work.

"Hey Fitz" Olivia said to him, and he put his papers down. "I was thinking, we need a plan for us, on how are we going to present our relationship to the public. So I guess maybe we can retake the plan I made last year, we already got the divorce part done, so we could move on to the high profile dates" before she could continue Fitz got up from his desk and walked to the couch where she was sitting.

"No" he looked her in the eye and made sure she was listening "I will not date anyone, not even fake date, just NO, it is not going to happen, the only woman the public will see me with is you"

"But Fitz" she tried to protest.

"No, that is out of the question, and to be honest I don't give a crap what people think, and it doesn't even matter I got reelected already, and they can't kick me out of office for getting married to the woman I love, so no" Fitz would never be on board with that plan again, after all he had gone through he was done with lies. "Listen to me, I love you, and we will figure something out, or not, it doesn't matter, all I care about is you and the kids, everything else comes second"

"Ok" she finally said and smiled to him.

Fitz gently grabbed her face and pulled her in for a kiss. The moment his lips touched hers every concern she had suddenly disappeared; the kiss went from gentle and sweet to hungry and passionate, the next thing she knew, Fitz pulled her down and pinned her to the couch, he was on top of her holding himself up with one arm and his knees to use the other one to caress her body. Olivia had her hands on the back of his neck and started running them through his hair, she was loosing control and she was fighting to get it back, she knew he hadn't been cleared any the doctor and also the cameras; but she was failing. He was reaching for the buttons of her shirt, but before he could do anything, someone opened the door to the office.

"Jeez guys, get a room" Jerry said, disgust clear on his face.

Olivia and Fitz sat up right away, both of them blushing ten shades of red, they had gotten so caught up on themselves they forgot they had told Jerry to let them know when he and Karen were up so they could go back to have brunch with them.

"Well, I don't know if I can eat now, thank you, but hmm we are up" he said, still making a face.

"Right, yeah… brunch" Fitz said, he was about to get up, but he realized his excitement was visible so he sat back down. Olivia realized what was going on and suppressed a smile.

"Why don't you finish signing those papers and I'll go with him" she got up and walked to the door. Jerry looked at his dad and then at her.

"Ugh" was all he said and started walking back to the residence.

Fitz rubbed his face with his hand and Olivia finally broke out laughing.

"Just don't ok" he told her "I will go splash some cold water on my face"

"Ok, I better get up there, don't take too long" Oliva finally walked out of the oval and went after Jerry to see about their food.

Fitz sighed and finally got up from the couch and went to the bathroom, after washing his face and taking a few deep breaths he was ready to head upstairs with his family and he couldn't help the huge grin on his face. Despite feeling deeply embarrassed, he couldn't help but think about how he thought he would never get to have that image of his family with Olivia, just a regular family on a saturday morning where she just hung out with him working together, waiting for the kids to get up, he just felt profoundly happy. The whole situation was something he thought he could only dream about; but it had happened, and to him it felt so right like they had been doing that for years and it was their normal saturday routine. It was then that it finally hit him that he was finally getting all he ever wanted and he couldn't wait to officially begin his life with Olivia.

* * *

_**AN2: So these grants have a thing for standing at doors listening to people's conversations. Mellie is finally gone, and I will not bring her back because I really don't want to. The new Grant family is becoming a thing and that's great right? Anyway, I hope you liked it, please let me know what you think :)**_


	19. Chapter 19

_**AN: Im sorry I haven't updated in such a very long time. Life got in the way, I just couldn't write for a very long time and it was very frustrating. I basicaly spent the entire summer trying to finish this chapter. Again, I'm sorry, I swear I'm trying really hard. I hope you guys still want to read this... thanks for your patience.**_

* * *

It had been two weeks since Fitz got shot and all the fuss about it was finally beginning to die down. He had been in the office for longer than he was supposed to, to catch up on work because he wanted to take a long weekend at Camp David with the kids and Olivia. At first she wasn't sure it was a good idea for her to go, but then she realized they all needed it and she wanted to start bonding with Karen and Teddy. The official story was that the President was taking a much needed break with his children and that he had invited OPA because work never ceased and the change of atmosphere was good for everyone. Much to his discomfort, Olivia also advised for Cyrus to go too, so no one would question the whole work vacation concept she was going for.

Olivia's team would of course be in a different cabin as well as Cyrus, he knew no work would actually be done, but decided to not fight it for the sake of his health. That Wednesday Fitz had another doctors appointment and he wanted to ask how long it would be until he could have sex, she didn't want him to ask because he was supposed to be single, but he figured the doc should be able to stay quiet.

"So… doc, can you keep a secret?" Fitz asked after the doctor was done examining him.

"Sure" Dr. Akers replied.

"No but seriously I need you to sign this" Fitz pulled a non disclosure agreement out of his suit jacket. The doctor eyed him suspiciously but signed the paper anyway, then he just stood there waiting for Fitz to talk.

"I just wanted to know how long do I have to wait to you know… have intercourse" He finally asked.

"That's it" Dr. Akers chuckled "I was getting worried, there is nothing wrong with asking that, you are single" he paused realizing what was going on, the President wasn't just like any bachelor who could do whatever "Which is exactly why I signed that, you wouldn't be asking unless there was someone"

"Yes, and we're not ready for the whole world to know, it was kind of unexpected" he added the last part for good measure "I'm not saying it's going to happen I just want to know when it will be ok to consider" he explained.

"I understand, so considering the type of wound I would advise at least another five weeks" Fitz made a face, so he went on to explain "I just removed the stitches, so you are still at risk of the wound reopening for a little while, there is still lots of swelling and im sure you noticed the bruising. You got three cracked ribs so I'm sure it also hurts to just breath, even lifting your arms should be an issue" Fitz knew the doctor was right, he was still in pain, but when he was with Olivia it was easy to forget about it. "I know you might feel just fine walking around your office and working, but just think about all that happens during sex, it could be very painful, and uncomfortable for you" Fitz nodded reluctantly at Dr. Akers words

"At least five weeks then" Fitz finally said without conviction.

"Yes, look on the outside it will start looking better sooner, but it wasn't just a flesh wound there was bone involved, a good way to know is if you can breath and move your arms with no pain. Don't rush Mr. President, just imagine how bad it would be if you ignore it and then right in the middle of things you wince and scream in pain, it would be a huge turn off for both parts involved" the doctor felt the need to speak freely to make Fitz understand the severity of the situation and Fitz appreciated he wasn't holding anything back

"Thanks doc, I guess I will see you next week" Fitz stood up and shook hands with the doctor, he knew he needed time to heal properly, but he felt like he had already waited long enough. Every time they spent the night together it was very difficult to keep control so she had decided it was best to stop staying at the Blair House, but they would have to figure something out because of Camp David; and also Fitz wasn't willing to have her spend so many nights away from him.

Even though the situation was a lot calmer, the gladiators still had some work to do at the White House, they had just redirected most of their efforts to preparing the country for their relationship. The first thing they agreed to was an interview with Fitz, Karen and Jerry, they wanted everyone to see they were doing well as a family and that the kids were totally on board with Fitz moving on from his marriage. They planned to do it after returning from Camp David so they could begin testing the waters for him being in a relationship at some point. Fitz had already told her he didn't really care and that he had no more campaigns to run, but she insisted that taking time and doing things right would make things easier for everyone in the long run.

* * *

Friday came along in no time, they were all packed and ready to go to Camp David, Fitz wanted to take Marine one, but Olivia said it wouldn't be right for people to see her boarding with them and Fitz refused to ride without her so they settled for his regular motorcade. She was at the residence with Jerry waiting for Fitz to be ready, he had just gotten off of work so he went to get a quick shower and change before they left.

"Hey Jerry, could you give me some pointers on how to get closer to your sister, because I want to try, but I think she is still not ok with me" Jerry turned his attention from his phone to her and stayed quiet for a moment.

"Hmm she likes a lot of things… shoes, clothes, books, music, I don't think she has any problem with you, it just takes her a while to warm up to people don't worry, I can talk to her if you want" he replied.

"That's ok, I don't want to push it, I'll just take small steps" She smiled at him reassuringly and went back to reading the book she had brought along for the trip.

Jerry went back to his phone and they waited for a little while longer, when Fitz finally came out he called Karen so she would finally come out of her room and join them. The nanny got there holding Teddy just before Karen and then they all left together. The ride there wasn't very long, they arrived in time for dinner. Olivia's team and Cyrus took a ride on the motorcade too, just on a different SUV, since it was the first night they would be having dinner together at the main cabin, the rest of the time each of them would be on their own to give Fitz and his family some privacy.

After dinner, everyone left for their respective cabins, and the older kids went to their rooms. It was time for Teddy to get a bath and go to bed, the nanny was getting ready to do it, but Fitz said he could do it and Olivia volunteered to help, she figured there was no time like the present to start getting involved.

"Are you sure? there is no rush sweetheart" Fitz knew she was still anxious about the whole parenting thing so he wanted to give her time to adjust, she got some experience with Jerry, but taking care of a toddler was a whole different thing.

"Yes Fitz I am sure, and you need help, I'm sure it hurts when you pick him up" She knew he was still in pain even though he tried to hide it, and hadn't talked about his doctor's appointment with her.

"I'm alright" he replied trying to sound confident.

"Don't lie to me, you still need to tell me all about your appointment with Dr. Akers" Fitz knew there was no way around that so he turned the topic back to Teddy.

"Lets just focus on the task at hand, it's past this boys bedtime already" he said before he reached to get Teddy from his high chair, but Olivia got up from the table too and intercepted him.

"I got this" She picked Teddy up and started walking ahead of Fitz, he just stared at her for a moment, Olivia was tickling the little boys belly and he let out a hearty laugh. The scene made his heart melt, he just couldn't wait to have more kids with her.

He got to the bathroom just after she did and they started preparing the bath, they worked well as a team as always. Being just a three year old, Teddy couldn't really understand what was happening, but he knew something was different and it made him happy, he was laughing and talking a lot more and he was getting used to the lady who was spending so much time around him recently. Jerry had also made a point of removing photos of Mellie from his room and replacing them with photos he had taken recently where Olivia was in; also sometimes he sat down with Teddy and told him all about her, he had been tempted to tell him she was going to be his mom, but he feared the kid might start calling her mom and freaking her out.

* * *

Olivia and Fitz went to their bedroom when they were done with Teddy, it had been a long day so they just changed their clothes and got ready for bed. Liv had been staying at her place recently so Fitz had been missing her terribly during the night, having her there with him at the moment made him feel like he had to make up for lost time.

When Olivia was finally in bed next to him he wrapped his arms around her, she adapted perfectly into his embrace and rested her head in his chest, they laid there in silence for a while just taking pleasure in being together, Fitz kissed the top of her head and held her a little tighter, he just wanted to be as close to her as humanly possible.

"I've missed you" he finally broke the silence

"I've missed you too" she answered honestly, she hadn't been able to sleep well being away from him, it was different from when they were apart in the past because now nothing was preventing them from being together, she was staying at her place by choice and she was regretting it. Maybe it was important for their image for them to live separately, but he had told her repeatedly that he didn't give a damn what people said, and also she worried for his health and lack of self control.

"I'm beginning to think staying at my place was not such a good idea" she said with a light chuckle

"You think?" he said with sarcasm which made them both laugh out loud.

Once the laughter subsided they were quiet again for a little while, being in each others embrace was pretty much all they needed at the moment.

"You know why I did it though"

"I truly have no idea" he said innocently

"You don't behave mister" she nudged him

Fitz made a face pretending to take offense in her words, then he adjusted himself so he could have better access. "I do not know what you are talking about" he said and kissed his way up from her neck to her mouth between each word and began getting his hands under her shirt.

"Fitz" she tried to stop him "What are you doing?"

"Nothing" he said before he started placing soft kisses on her neck again.

"Fitz" she said a bit louder and tried gently to push him away to no avail. "You still haven't told me what the Dr. Akers said to you"

Olivia managed to move away from him and sat straighter on the bed

"Liv come on" he pleaded, and gave her his signature sad puppy look, but she remained serious.

"I'm waiting" she crossed her arms "What did he say? I'm sure you ignored my suggestion and asked him about it"

Fitz sighed in defeat and sat up too.

"He said I have to wait like… 5 weeks" he murmured the last part, but she still heard it clear.

"Huh… so not today or tomorrow or even next week, which means you are not as well as you claim to be" she chastised him, it wasn't like she didn't want to make love to him again, she just wanted him to heal properly.

"I guess… he said it looks better on the outside sooner, but bullets can really do number on you so I should wait" he replied "He's right, I mean it does hurt a little when I move more than necessary… or breath, It's just, you know… we've waited for so long already"

"And we can wait little longer, we have all the time in the world" she gave him a broad smile and he couldn't resist smiling too, that simple admission meant everything to them. They no longer had to live on stolen moments and wondering when they could see each other again or what would come in their way, they were finally able to live their love to the fullest. Even if she insisted on being careful and planning to keep their image, they were finally free to be together forever.

Finally they laid back down and cuddled up, and fell asleep soon after exchanging I love you's and wishing each other a good night.

* * *

The following morning everyone was up reasonably early and Fitz decided they should make breakfast themselves, when he told Karen she laughed remembering the last time they cooked. Jerry looked at them with a puzzled expression not understanding what was so funny. Olivia got there with Teddy and put him securely on his chair.

"Whats going on?" She asked Jerry

"We are making breakfast ourselves, dad told the staff to leave" He answered still staring at his dad and sister, he didn't like feeling left out of a joke

"Oh, that should be fun, you should do the Jerry Grant special omelet" Olivia said remembering those times he cooked while they lived together. When Fitz noticed Liv he started walking towards her, and join the conversation.

"You invented a dish?" He asked his son

"Yes I did and it's quite awesome" Jerry declared confidently, and also he realized he couldn't be upset that his dad and Karen had made some good memories without him because he had the same with Liv. What he had to do was try to close the gap since they were all together.

"And you didn't burn anything down, was the kitchen still standing?"Karen teased her brother

"I was a bit scared he was going to burn himself the first time, but he did great" Liv answered for him.

"Thats more that can be said about us" Karen giggled at her dad's words.

"What did you guys do?" Jerry asked

"We had a food fight the last time we were here… and it was kinda dad's fault" Fitz made a face before speaking.

"That is so not true" he said feigning innocence

"It is" Karen said to Olivia who had a shocked expression on her face

"Ok fine, maybe it was my fault, but those were some hmm… difficult times and I figured we needed some fun even if the staff hated us afterwards" He still felt uncomfortable talking about the time they thought Jerry was dead.

"I know it's still kinda touchy, but everything is ok now and maybe we should fill each other in on what we all did and just get it out of the way" Jerry offered

"I guess you are right kid" Fitz told him.

"I suggest we talk as we cook, and try not to make such a big mess" Liv said, knowing they were all hungry.

"I agree with Liv, I'm famished" Karen said and gave her a small smile, it was a small gesture, but for Olivia it felt like they were finally getting somewhere.

They all had a great time cooking and sharing what they had done while they were separated; Jerry did make his specialty breakfast dish with the help of his sister and Fitz made all sorts of pancakes and waffles with Olivia. They ended up making so much of everything they decided to eat breakfast food all day. No big mess was made, but that didn't mean they had no fun so they did end up with syrup and batter on their clothes, they stayed on the kitchen for a while just hanging out; Jerry and Liv talked about binging on Modern Family and Karen and Fitz talked about binging on Friends.

As time passed, so did the awkwardness of talking about such a difficult time in their lives, and it made it easier to look forward becoming a family and all the good stuff about their future. Throughout the morning Fitz and Liv locked eyes sometimes and they couldn't help but smile at each other, seeing what how much their lives had changed for the better.

* * *

Olivia, Fitz and the kids spent most of Saturday afternoon outside, the weather had been getting warmer since the end of may so they played in the pool for a while. Fitz and Liv decided to start teaching Teddy how to swim and the older kids volunteered to help; at some point Karen and Jerry were just playing like little kids, they found pool toys they hadn't used in years. When they got too hungry to stay in the pool they went back inside to reheat their breakfast food.

After everyone got showered and Teddy was in bed Jerry suggested watching a movie, he thought it was a good idea for the four of them to hang out together. Fitz said he would take care of the popcorn and Jerry said he would dig in the pantry for sugary snacks. Liv was hoping to ask Karen to help her pick the movie, but she left for the kitchen right after her dad.

Jerry came out of the pantry with cookies, chocolates and gummy worms in his hands, and realized Karen had left Olivia alone. For a moment there he wondered if Liv had been right and Karen needed more time to adjust to her being there. He decided to talk to his sister later, he didn't want his dad to get upset or make a scene, and he went to help Liv pick the movie.

When Fitz got to the living room he put the bowls of popcorn of the coffee table and sat next to Olivia, Jerry was finishing setting up the movie, they had decided to watch The Avengers, Jerry had been insisting she had to watch it since they lived together, but they didn't get to do it before returning to DC. She wasn't so sure about superhero movies, but he got her to agree saying his sister would like it too.

"What are we watching?" Fitz asked with his mouth full of popcorn, he was carrying two large bowls, he placed one on the coffee table and then he sat next to Olivia on the couch.

"The Avengers, I'm not so sure about it, but Jerry vouched for it" she told him sounding skeptic.

"I've heard Marvel movies are great, but I've never had time to watch them" Fitz said.

"Well you guys are missing on something great and it's time I fix it" Jerry took the remote and decided to sit next to Fitz, thinking that way Karen would sit next to Liv, but when Karen walked in with yet another bowl of popcorn, she went to sit next to him.

Fitz didn't even notice, but Olivia did and she began to worry Karen might have a problem with her despite their earlier interactions. She decided to put that thought in the back of her mind and just enjoy the movie, they managed to eat all of the popcorn and most of the sweets, it was overall a good night. It turned out she did like the movie and she had some fun messing with Fitz talking about how good looking those heroes were.

"I gotta say, if you had told me before how fine those Avengers are, I would have agreed much sooner" She told Jerry.

"It's true I mean I do enjoy the story, but the cast is totally a plus" Karen added

"I didn't think of it, but now that you know, will you finally agree to Marvel marathons?" he asked her.

"Most definitely" Olivia told him

"Seriously? I'm right here" Fitz took the bait, and Jerry suppressed a giggle.

"I mean just look at them, they are really hot" She told him innocently.

"What do they have that I don't" Fitz asked her, and she tried not to laugh.

"Honey you are very handsome, but come on, they are superheroes, and Captain America, just wow, he's so patriotic and righteous, and those bright blue yes" his face was priceless, she was just trying so hard to keep a straight face.

"My eyes are blue, and I think I'm righteous enough, and I'm the damn president! it doesn't get more patriotic than that!" he exclaimed, the three of them just stared at him for a moment before bursting into a fit of laughter.

"And you are just messing with me" he said realizing she didn't really mean any of it and even his kids had caught on it.

"You made it too easy" she said trying to catch her breath, Fitz just gave her an unamused look.  
"Ok guys, before you find other ways to mess with me we should call it a night" He told them once the laughing subsided.

"Come on dad it's not even midnight" Jerry complained

"Yeah, but I barely ever get a good night's sleep when I'm working so if I get a chance to rest, I'll take it"

"I'm actually pretty tired kiddo" Olivia added "But you guys can stay up, I mean if your dad is ok with it"

"It's fine, we might be spoiling you guys a bit but if you want to stay up all night and get up at 3pm tomorrow you are free to do it" Fitz really didn't mind, and he knew they had gone through a lot and needed to just have fun and be normal teenagers. He also made a point to tell Liv that she had as much of a say as he did when it came to the kids, he knew she would never do anything that would cause them harm in any way, he knew he could completely trust her.

Fitz and Olivia left he kids in the living room and went straight to their bedroom to get ready for bed, they did their nighttime routine in silence, which wasn't out of the ordinary, but when she finally got in bed and Fitz just remained seated on his spot staring at his hands, she realized something was bothering him.

"Penny for your thoughts" she said and nudged his arm gently.

"Nothing, just tired" He replied absentmindedly

"Yeah, right… Look honey I'm not gonna drop it so just tell me please" he was still looking down at his hands so she got closer to him and caressed his cheek with her hand and made him turn to look at her.

"What is it?" she insisted

"It's nothing, I mean it's just… it's stupid, I'm sorry I made you worry, it's nothing" his gaze seemed softer, and he smiled at her and pecked her lips, but she knew him too well and decided not to drop it.

"Come on Fitz, what happened to let's tell each other everything, it doesn't matter what it is, or that you think it's not important" she grabbed his face to make him look her in the eyes "I want to know everything that goes through that pretty head of yours" Fitz chuckled softly, she let go of his face and he inhaled deeply before he began talking.

"I just… I kept thinking about, what you said earlier about those actors and their looks, and got a little self conscious that's all" he felt embarrassed saying it out loud, he knew it made no sense, but for a moment there he felt like she could do much better than him. Olivia was shocked to say the least, she didn't even know where to begin, she couldn't believe he actually thought that.

"Fitz.. How can I explain this… I mean… You know I didn't mean any of that, we were just messing with you, I didn't think it bother you so much, why would you even…" The was so much she wanted to say, she couldn't even finish her sentences.

"I know, I know, I told you it was stupid…" he tried to shrug it off

"I don't think it's stupid, I'm just concerned… why did you feel self conscious, have I said something before" Fitz began feeling guilty for messing with her head and felt even worse for entertaining such thoughts.

"It's nothing you did Liv, I swear, it's just my head… I just feel like you are too good for me, and I'm quite older than you, divorced, with three kids, my life is a hot mess… and I don't know I just thought you are too good for anyone, but freaking Captain America seemed to be a bit closer to deserving you than I am"

"Sweetheart that's just… you know there's no one in this galaxy I'd rather be with than you" She tried to sound as convincing as she could and she grabbed his face again to make him look at her.

"I know, I know" he did know, but he couldn't deny he had a hard time understanding why.

"No seriously, I need to know you believe that, I need you to understand that for me there's no better man than you… Baby I just wish you could see yourself through my eyes" Olivia caressed his face lovingly and brought him closer to her, their faces almost touching. "Fitz I love you so much, and I could never be happy with anyone else"

"I've always known you come as a package deal, and I love your children as much as I love you, and let's not forget I have been an active part of the hot mess for a while, neither of us is perfect Fitz, but we do bring out the best in each other and not everyone is lucky enough to have that"

There was a turmoil of emotions going through Fitz, he felt bad for upsetting her, and guilty for even implying that his kids were some sort of a burden to her, after all she did for Jerry. He had let his insecurities get the best of him, and start dwelling on past mistakes. Both of them had done things they regretted, but it didn't matter anymore, all the good and the bad had led them to where they were now. He was well aware there were still many things to figure out, and they couldn't really erase the past, and things would still come up, but being together they could overcome anything.

"How can I not feel that you are to good enough for me when you say those things" He said with a light chuckle. He gently grabbed her hands from his face and kissed her palms "I swear Liv, I will spend the rest of my life trying my hardest to be the man you deserve"

"I know" she replied with a smile, and unable to resist anymore he leaned in for a kiss.

* * *

The rest of the weekend went by without a hitch, Jerry decided to wait until they were home to talk to Karen about Liv, to avoid causing trouble in their small vacation. Everyone was relaxed and happy when they returned to the White House even Cyrus. They were going to have a very interesting week, Fitz' interview with his older kids was due on Monday, and later that week they were told Tom would probably be able to leave the hospital.

Tom's injuries had been very severe and he had spent a while in the ICU, for some time they weren't even sure he was going to make it. The whole issue with Tom brought back things they were all trying to forget, but it also made them aware they still had a few loose ends concerning the fall of command and his organization. Fitz knew he had to make a decision on Tom's future once he was cleared by the doctors, and he knew despite Rowans mistakes and wrongdoings, B613 served a purpose, and he had to make sure said purpose would still be taken care of, he wanted to keep his nation safe but he certainly didn't want history to repeat itself. He had to think very carefully of his next step.

However, everything about national security was to be kept confidential, even from other parts of the government, so officially it was all about the new status of his family and preparing the nation for Olivia. He wanted to get the ball rolling asap, he was itching to tell the entire world how happy she made him. Also Fitz couldn't wait to have her move into the White House, he was already looking at rings with Jerry, and thinking about plans for the wedding. He hadn't said anything to her, because he knew she wanted to do things the way she considered right for the sake of pubic image, but he would make sure to speed things up once the word got out.

Liv agreed to stay at the White House Sunday night, so Fitz woke up in a really good mood Monday morning, he left for work quite early and Olivia said she would have breakfast with Jerry and see if the older kids were willing to get a little early. She was planning to go get Jerry after Teddy woke up, but Jerry beat her to it, he went to find her around 8:30 already holding his baby brother in his arms. He dropped Teddy off and said he was going to get Karen.

"Hey sis" he said as he gently shook her.

"What time is it?" she groaned in response

"It's a bit early but you know, Teddy is an early riser, and Liv has to go to work so I figured maybe we could all have breakfast together, we can just go back to sleep until lunch" He explained to her. Karen stayed quiet for a moment, he could see she was struggling to make a decision.

"I don't know Jer, I'm really sleepy" He eyed her suspiciously, and thought about asking if it had to do anything with Liv.

"Hey Karen… hmm, I've been meaning to ask you something, I didn't mean to ambush you when you are still half asleep, but I guess I might as well"

"Just spit it out" she interrupted him

"Do you have a problem with dad and Liv being together? I mean it's just that you seem to avoid her a lot, and she's actually a bit worried, she asked me not to say anything to you but I felt like I had to" he finally asked her.

"No… I don't, I think it's good that dad is happy and she seems great, I mean she seems to like us more than mom… it's just I don't know, you seem to have a great relationship with her, but what if we don't get along so great, I mean if my own mother didn't like me then… I don't know" Karen looked defeated, and Jerry finally understood.

"Karen, she's not like that, she wants us to be like a real family and all, and you are forgetting a very important detail here. We didn't just hit it out of the park right away, like it was actually pretty bad, because… well… Remember I told you I had to get sick and I knew nothing, and she explained and helped me and all?" Karen nodded

"Well I left out few details because I didn't think it was important, but at first it was actually pretty bad, I didn't know what was going on, do you think I reacted well after I was off the sedatives?"

"I guess not… so what happened?" She asked full of curiosity

"I flipped Karen, badly, she had to put me to sleep again because she freaked out, then she let me wake up again and waited patiently for me to stop screaming, I was actually tied down and I had to stay that way an extra night just in case I woke up and didn't remember right away." Karen seemed surprise upon hearing his brother and Liv had such a sough start.

"But you guys are like, so close" She told him

"Yeah, Rome wasn't built in a day, I had to come to terms with what she told me and just trust her, I was unsure at first, but she's great and things got better, and we spent all of our time together for weeks, it was inevitable not to become close" Jerry made his case and Karen seemed to be considering it.

"Just give her a shot, we are going to be a family officially, sooner rather than later, and I just know she is going to be everything we ever wanted from our mother" Jerry spoke confidently and it eased Karens worries.

"Ok, you are probably right, but don't tell anyone I said that, I'll deny it, now lets get moving she's probably waiting" Karen finally smiled and she felt like maybe things would get better for her too.

* * *

_**AN2: The interview is up next, I promise I will try my best to finish it soon.**_


	20. Chapter 20

_**AN: So... here's chapter 20. I wrote this as fast as I could. I just want to thank all of you who are still interested in this story and the new readers who decided to give it a shot. To the reviewer ****Sandra Nowakowsk thank you so much for taking the time to review each chapter, your reviews made my my week. I really do love reading what you guys think, I hope you enjoy it :)  
**_

* * *

Monday afternoon everything was set up for the interview that evening, Olivia picked the outfits for the three of them and coached them on all they were supposed to talk about, while her team handled everything with the tv crew and the press. It was going to be a live interview so it was important to be very careful of everything they said. About an hour before the interview, Fitz left his office and went to get ready, once he had changed his clothes he went to find the make up crew, and on the way he saw Karen and Jerry in a room next to the one where the interview would take place, they were talking and giggling and Fitz worried they might be plotting something. However he didn't get to ask them because he was dragged away by Abby who had been looking for him so he could finish getting ready.

Karen and Jerry had actually been plotting something, it was all about putting the idea of their father and Olivia out there sooner than what was planned. Jerry had realized from his previous encounters with the press that people loved everything he said, and he figured that whatever came from the first children, people just ate it up. He figured it had to be the fact that people assumed, since he was a kid, he didn't have an agenda and just spoke his mind, and also that he always said he was talking without permission. So if doing his own thing had worked before it shouldn't be any different now, and it would be much better if it came from both him and Karen. She was on board right away, they thought about telling Fitz, he would have agreed, but they wanted his reaction to be real. They would probably be in trouble, but only briefly and it would most likely end up well.

The interview was scheduled for 8pm, and ten minutes before, everyone was seated on their assigned spot just waiting for their cue. At 8 sharp, the interviewer Kate Miller, made the necessary greetings and introductions and proceeded with the questions.

"So, Mr. President, a lot has happened to your family in a rather short time, how are you all coping? you guys look good, but we would all like to hear it from the source" She began cheerfully.

"You are right, a lot has happened, but I think we are doing great, there have been some adjustments, but we know that as long as we have each other we will be ok" Fitz answered, but he knew one of his kids would be up next, they needed to hear it from the kids too, it was all planned like that.

"How about you guys, I mean, when you came back" Kate said to Jerry "Everything had changed, your parents were already divorced, and you she turned to Karen "You lost your brother, your parents got divorced, then he came back, it must have been really hard for both of you"

"Well yeah some things were hard, like being away from them, and knowing they were hurting, but my parents divorce didn't really affect me in a negative way" Jerry spoke first "I don't think I need to repeat myself, I believe I made it all very clear a few days ago"

"I agree with Jerry, it was actually a relief when dad told me they were getting a divorce, my only concern was if me and Teddy would get to stay with him" Karen added

"If you don't mind, I really don't think we should keep talking about things relating to our mother, everything that had to be said has been said, so we should just put that subject to rest"

Kate nodded, she knew not to push things when it came to children, she could come off as rude or mean, besides the kid was right, he had already said a lot about the former first lady, it was better to get some fresh information. She moved on to ask them about they had been up to since Jerry returned, it was supposed to be lighthearted interview to let the country know they were all better off. They talked about what they did in their spare time, and how Fitz always found time to spend with them, to be a part of their lives. Everyone thought it was so cute, it was all about their little things, watching tv with them, Fitz' new habit of eating mac n cheese and fish sticks, and how they played in the pool at Camp David. Olivia had even planned for them to "embarrass" their dad with stories that had been specifically picked and modified for that purpose. After that, it finally came the moment they had been counting on, they all knew questions about his romantic life would come up, and they had prepared for it, but they were not counting on the kids side plans.

"Mr. President, you are pretty much the most elegible bachelor in the world, will you start dating anytime soon?" Kate asked with a flirty grin.

"I don't know about that, I feel like I'm a little to old for the whole dating thing, and I'm too busy between my job and the kids" He answered as he had been told to. The interviewer turned to the kids.

"And you are ok with your dad dating?" Kate asked them.

"Yeah totally, but whoever it is, she has to be vetted by me, Karen and Teddy" Jerry answered.

"All three of you?" She asked them

"Yes, specially Teddy, because little kids don't lie, and sometimes they are very perceptive, when they don't like you they just don't" Karen answered.

"You see now" Fitz told Kate "It's not as easy as it sounds, it's going to be hard enough for me to meet someone, and then I'll have to get their approval" The kids looked at each other and grinned and of course everyone noticed.

"Why are you smiling guys, is there something he's not telling us?" Kate turned to the kids, an Fitz worried, that was not part of the plan, he knew they were up to something.

"It's true meeting new people is complicated, and we might not like them, but maybe he doesn't have to" Jerry started, Fitz worried even more, and Olivia did too.

"Maybe theres someone already there, that we all approve" Karen added, Fitz eyes went wide, he saw where they were going.

"Guys…" he said in an attempt to quiet them.

"So there is someone" Kate said

"Not really, but we like to think it's a possibility" Jerry said

"Oh who is it? Can you tell us?" Kate pressed

"Guys" Fitz said again, but he knew there was no point.

Karen and Jerry looked at each other, and Jerry nodded.

"We keep telling him he and Olivia Pope would make a great couple, and it's great because they already know each other and they are friends, and the three of us really like her so it would be perfect" Karen blurted out.

"But they keep saying we are crazy" Jerry added.

Fitz was covering his face with his hand, he knew he should have asked when he had the chance, at least get some sort of warning, he knew Olivia was probably freaking out. They would just have to wait and see what happened, they had put the idea out there already, maybe it was for the best but they couldn't know for sure.  
Kate wasn't sure what to say, she had two options, she could bring the cheating issue back up, since everyone probably remembered that for a moment it was thought she was his mistress; or she could forget about that and keep things cheerful. She went for the second option, the other issue had been put to rest a long time ago and it was too risky to bring it back up.

"Mr. President, what do you have to say about that" She went for the most obvious question

"That my children have overactive imaginations" he said with a light chuckle.

"See, he says we are crazy, we are just saying they both should just think about it, who knows it might be a good thing" Jerry insisted. "I mean don't you like her?" he asked Fitz

"Don't you think she's pretty" Karen asked before he could answer the first question, his own children were putting him on the spotlight.

"Yeah of course… I do… but we are just friends" Fitz blushed and national television and the kids resisted the urge to laugh out loud.

"We are just saying you could be more" Jerry said, the time of the interview was running out and Kate cursed in her head for not bringing up the topic until the end, she didn't think it would get so interesting. She made a quick judgement call to give Fitz a breather, she figured it might help her chances of a future interview.

"Ok guys, you are making your dad blush now, give him a break, maybe he just needs some time" Kate said "And luckily for him, we have reached the end of this interview.

Kate proceeded to say the appropriate goodbyes and soon the transmission came to an end. She thanked the three of them for their time and they quickly left.

* * *

Quinn and Abby were the ones in charge in charge of dismissing everyone and sending the trio back to a conference room, where Olivia was waiting for them.

"What were you thinking" Olivia almost yelled when they went into the room.

"I swear I had nothing to do with it" Fitz said right away, he really didn't want to sleep on the couch.

"It's true, we didn't tell him" Jerry told Olivia

"We just wanted to get the ball rolling a little faster, you guys have waited so much already" Karen added

"And everyone loves whatever we say" Jerry was beginning to have second thoughts, he felt guilty looking at how upset she was.

"We didn't mean to do any harm" Karen said apologetically.

Olivia's face softened hearing their words, she was touched that they cared about her and their dad, and she realized they meant well, but she was still worried, it had been something quite reckless to do.

"I know guys, but it was still very risky, I'm just worried the whole cheating thing will come up again" Olivia told them calmly

"Maybe it won't, Kate didn't say anything" Jerry tried to ease her worries

"Sweetheart don't worry, he's right, and as far as everyone is concerned, I slept with someone else and you were fully exonerated" Fitz really did think it would all be ok, even if some people tried to make a mess out of it.

"I guess, we just have to wait and see" She started walking to leave the room, so she could go ask Abby and Quinn what was being said already, but Fitz stopped her before she could leave.

"Liv, everything is going to be alright" he whispered in her ear and held her close to him. The kids began to feel like uncomfortable and quietly started walking out of the room. Olivia was avoiding Fitz' gaze.

"Look at me please" he lifted her chin with his hand "We are going to be ok, no we are going to be great, no matter what" he said confidently

"Yeah, I guess" she said without much conviction

"Liv, please, just trust me ok, do you trust me?" He asked her

"Of course I do, but I can't help worry, the media can be pretty ruthless and its so hard to know how the public will react"

"That's not what I'm saying Liv, it really doesn't matter what people say or whichever direction the press takes this, we are going to be great because we have each other, and we are building a beautiful family together and thats all that matters" Liv took a deep breath and finally relaxed, she still worried a little, but she knew Fitz was right, she couldn't allow other people's opinion of them get in the way of their happiness. Fitz was going to lean in for a kiss, but in that moment he remembered about the kids and moved back.

"Are you ok?" Olivia looked at him confused

"Yeah, I'm sorry I just" he turned around and realized he and Olivia were alone, he let out a small chuckle.

"I suddenly remembered Karen and Jerry were in here with us" he explained

"Oh god… you are right, they must have left when you stopped me from leaving" They both felt embarrassed and looked at each other for a moment, before breaking into loud laughter.

"We should be more careful" Olivia finally said

"Yeah, what kind of parents are we that we forget our children are in the room" he let out a small chuckle, but it didn't go unnoticed by Olivia that he referred to the children as theirs, not his. He noticed he was looking pretty serious now, she knew already they would become a family officially and she loved the kids already, but it was the first time he actually said it like that and it caught her off guard. She still felt unsure about her status as a parent.

"Everything ok?" he asked her, he knew his words had affected her, but he wanted to know why.

"Yeah, its just that it's the first time you refer to the kids as ours" she figured there was no point trying to lie or change the subject.

"Is it? Well I thought that was implied, it just feels natural" He said sincerely "Is that ok with you?"

"Yeah… I mean of course it is, I just… we haven't really talked about it, It's kind of a big deal for me, that you consider me good enough to be a parent to them, I don't have much experience and I worry that I won't be good enough" Fitz interrupted her before she continued

"Babe, no one is born knowing how to be a parent, and it's impossible to get it right all the time, I personally don't have the best track record, what matters is that you care and you want what's best for them, and I firmly believe you got that covered. You have been much more of a parent for them than Mellie ever was, and I always have thought you would make and amazing mother, there's no one else I'd trust my kids with" He fully trusted her, and he needed to make sure she knew it, he didn't have the slightest doubt"

"Thank you" she said choking back tears.

"I've actually been meaning to talk to you since movie night at Camp David , but I kept putting it off for some reason, I just wanted to let you know you have as much authority with them as me, you don't need to consult me for permissions or anything, and also hmm… I wanted to talk to you about having a meeting with my lawyer, just to make sure they stay with you in case anything happens to me, I just think it's important" It was truly a concern for him that something could happen to him and they were shipped back to their mother, Karen and Jerry were old enough to fight it, but it would be catastrophic for Teddy. Olivia smiled at him broadly and nodded, she was just really happy about how far they had come.

"Fitz, listen to me, if you die, I will kill you" He chuckled "But you are right, set up that meeting for later this week"

After they had sorted everything out, Olivia went back to her previous task and told him she had to go check with her team. Fitz went to the residence to check on the kids before he went back to the office, he had to make up for the time spent in the interview.

"How's everything?" Olivia asked as soon as she found Abby, Quinn was seeing out the last men of the tv crew.

"Pretty well, the network posted a poll on their website to see if people think you guys should get together" She opened the website on her tablet to show Olivia "And there's a 90% absolutely yes, a 3% maybe a 5% not sure and just a 2% no"

"Wow, that is surprising" Olivia said

"Not so much really" Quinn said as she walked towards them "Jerry put you in a very good place on peoples minds after he told everyone you saved his life"

"She's right actually" Abby agreed

"And people also think it was very nice of you to stick around even though you were accused of sleeping with him and your name was dragged through the mud, but they all bought the story about the other girl so…"

"Yeah don't worry Liv, things are looking good, no one will think wrong of you after they heard how much his kids like you" Abby added

"Our kids" Olivia corrected her "He said it, out loud, and it feels right even if it's not official yet"

"Official doesn't matter" Abby said with a smile "I'm really happy for you"

"See Liv, there's nothing for you to worry about, you have your family on your side, and when I say that I'm talking about us too, you gladiators" Quinn was really happy everything had turned out so well for all of them, aside from the fact that business was as good as ever, it was great to have the team again. She just wished Harrison could be there too. They still hoped though, since there was no body yet.

"Thank you guys, I don't think I say it enough, I'm really grateful you had Fitz' back when I was gone" Olivia felt very loved by everyone at the moment and she felt great. She may no have any biological family, but she didn't need them.

"What do you guys say we go back to OPA with Huck and get some take out" Abby suggested

"Sounds like a plan" Quinn agreed and the three of them went to get their things, Olivia texted Jerry she was going out, he asked if she was ok and she told him everything was good, that she just wanted to hang out with her team. Both him and Karen were relieved to know all was well. She also texted Fitz and he told her it was great and to have fun.

* * *

When they got to OPA Huck was anxiously waiting for them, pacing all over the office. They had texted him they were going there to get dinner, and he didn't mention anything was wrong.

"I'm glad you are all here, this is too big to be told over the phone" Huck said when he stopped in front of them.

"Is something wrong? You didn't say anything earlier, what happened?" Olivia said with concern.

"It's recent, and since you said you were coming, I figured I'd tell you in person" Huck told her

"Huck please just spit it out we are dying here" Abby said with desperation.

"Maybe you ladies should take a seat… It's about Harrison" The three of them were shocked and they moved the conversation to the conference room.

"What is it Huck, is he… did you find a…" Olivia couldn't bring herself to say it.

"No, he is alive" Huck cleared

"You should've lead with that buddy" Abby said

"Sorry… anyway he is alive and he contacted me for money to come back here" Huck explained to them.

"Wow… this is… wow" that was all Quinn managed to say

"Oh god, this is great news, I can't believe it, I'm so happy we don't have to add him to commands list of casualties… but where is he is he ok?" Olivia was relieved to say the least, she couldn't wait to tell Fitz.

"He says he's ok, he didn't explain much, he just said Tom helped him and he managed to leave the country and somehow made his way to a small village in China" Huck began telling them what he knew "He said they don't hear much american news there, but a few days ago he had to go into the nearest city to help a sick child from the village or something and he overheard some american tourists talking about Jerry and and all that has happened so he decided to call" he continued

"But we changed all of our numbers and everything for security reasons" Olivia remembered they had made a lot of changes during the time she was gone and after she returned.

"Yes, and it took him a while to get access to a computer find our one public number, but he did and I just wired him the money, he said he will be on the road soon, he should be back here in a couple of days" After Huck was done telling them everything, they were quiet for a few minutes, that was indeed a whole lot of information to take in.

"I guess now we have one more reason to celebrate" Olivia finally said

"Our team is almost complete again" Quinn said

"Yeah, but Stephen left by choice so it's ok, he should come visit though" Abby added

"I will see if I can find some wine so we can toast to the great news, why don't you guys order the food" Olivia got up and went to her office, she wanted to celebrate with her gladiators, but she needed to talk to Fitz.

She dialed his number as soon as she closed the door of her office, he answered on the second ring.

"Hey sweetheart, everything ok?" He found her call a bit odd, she had told him about going to OPA and he figured she hadn't been there for long

"Yes, more than ok actually, it's just… I just got some rather shocking news" Olivia took a deep breath before she continued, just hearing his voice made it all better "Harrison is alive"

"What? Oh my god, that is great news, is he ok?" Fitz knew how bad she felt thinking Harrison could be dead because he of command.

"Yes, he left the country, went into deep hiding, he told Huck that Tom helped him" Olivia and Fitz were still trying to decide what would happen with Tom after he was discharged by the doctors.

"That is… very interesting, we need to make a decision on that don't we?"

"Yes we do"

"Are you ok?" He knew she must be feeling far too many things at once, he wondered if he should leave work and just go get her.

"Yeah, Im just… I've spent so long worrying, and I honestly didn't expect this, it's been a long time and I really thought we had lost him" She was choking up by the time she said the last part.

"Oh sweetheart I know, but try to focus on the good news, everything is ok now… if I leave now I can be there in 20 minutes" He couldn't hear her crying and not go running to her side.

"No Fitz it's ok, I need to be with my team now, we need this, after all that has happened… for old time's sake, I think we are even getting Stephen on Skype"

"Ok, then" He was a little disappointed, but he understood, they were her family too and this was a huge deal for them.

"I will probably be back home a little past midnight, will I find you up?"

"Yes, I still got lots of work, see you later babe, I love you"

"I love you too" with that they both hung up and Olivia busied herself finding the wine to go back to the conference room.

Huck had already ordered the food when she returned to them, once the shock wore off conversation flowed easily, it was like no time had passed and it felt good, even Huck was participating. They all had gone through some difficult times, but things just kept getting better. They did manage to get Stephen, it was a bit early for him, but he was happy to see them and to hear about Harrison, he actually took his laptop to the kitchen so he could have breakfast while they ate their dinner. It had been really long since the last time they had just hung out together, and for a long while she didn't think it would happen again. Olivia was in a place in her life she didn't think she'd get to, everything she had gone through, every bit of heartache, it had all been worthwhile to get to where she was now


	21. Chapter 21

_**AN: I just wanted to say I'm sorry I didn't update since september last year, life was pretty crazy because I graduated college in December, and the one time I managed to write I updated my other story. So the good news is I graduated, the bad is I'm unemployed. I will do my best to write while trying to adult and find a job. There aren't many chapters left in this story so I'll try finish as soon as I can. **_

_**A little recap: **_

_**The entore family did some bonding at Camp David, things are going well with the kids, so much that they said in an interview that their dad and Liv would make a great couple. **__**_**Harrison is coming back, Fitz and Olivia need to decide what to do with Tom when he leaves the hospital**_ and Fitz is eagerly waiting for the doctor to tell him he is free to do any physical activity.**_

_**Hope you guys enjoy, please review :)**_

* * *

Thursday morning Huck, Abby and Quinn were at the airport waiting eagerly for Harrison to come through the doors. Liv had to stay at the office, the press had been after her a lot since the interview so she tried to stay out of the public eye as much as she could. It was killing her having to wait at the office, but she knew it was for the best, the press would have a field day if they saw her affectionately embracing a man at the airport and then they would probably start digging into his life. She figured the shock of the kids declarations would wear off, and everyone would go back to thinking there was nothing between her and Fitz. Even if the idea was still out there, things would stay calm until they actually took another step forward.

The gladiators were standing at the airport with a big sign even if it was not needed they thought it was a nice gesture. When Harrison stepped out of the gates he walked a little and looked around, he knew his friends would be there waiting for him. He first made eye contact with Abby, who broke into a huge grim upon seeing him. They were there, only Olivia was missing.

"Guys he's there" She said pointing to the spot where she saw him. Harrison looked very different from what they all remembered. His hair was longer, as well as his facial hair, he was wearing baggy pants, an oversized hoodie and dirty sneakers. He waved at them and started walking a lot faster, almost running. When he got to them Abby and Quinn both hugged him at the same time for a long time, then Harrison turned to Huck and even he hugged him.

"I've missed you guys a lot" He said when the hugging was over.

"Yeah we did too, only difference is we thought you were dead!" Abby said

"Sorry, I know, but I had to I barely managed to escape and I had no way of finding out right away when everything got fixed" He said apologetically.

"We know, it's ok we are just glad you are ok" Quinn told him

"So… where's Liv" Harrison asked.

"She's waiting for us at the office, she wanted to come, but it might have caused too much trouble because of the interview on Monday…"

"What happened?"

"The first children had the great idea of saying their dad and Liv would make a great couple so the press has been following her a lot"

"I have missed a lot haven't I?" Harrison said.

"A bit, but we'll get you up to speed in no time" Abby reassured him.

"I need you guys to tell me how the heck you saved that boy and killed the monster" Harrison talked as they walked to the car.

"Well the command part we worked really hard on it, but the kid part, that was all Liv, we had no idea until all hell broke loose… wait Huck does know, he was working with her, very well kept secret" Quinn started explaining.

On the ride back to OPA, they told him most of what happened so they could finally live in peace, and the important things that happened since Liv returned. He was glad to hear she was doing ok, and moving forward with her relationship. When they finally got to the office it felt very weird for Harrison to be back there after such a long time, for a moment there he thought he would never be back.

Liv heard the door open and immediately left her office, Harrison walked in after Huck, when Olivia finally saw him in the flesh, a big weight was lifted off of her shoulders. Relief was written all over her face, they walked towards each other and they hugged for quite a while. She loved him like a brother and it had been torturing her to think him dead.

"It's so good to see you" Liv said choking back tears.

"Right back at you"

"I heard you have been quite busy since I left, you even have kids now" He said with a small laugh "I'm happy for you"

"Thanks, it's been crazy but I'm happy" Olivia told him. "You must be exhausted, do you want to get some rest? You can stay at my apartment for as long as you need" she offered.

"I am tired, but I'd rather hang out with you guys for a while and catch up" he said "And thanks for the offer because I am actually homeless at the moment" he let out a chuckle.

"We could get breakfast" Huck suggested.

"Thats a great idea" Olivia agreed.

It was a really good morning for the whole team, they had breakfast together at the office, and even though Harrison was tired and jet lagged there was no other place he'd rather be. Olivia was incredibly happy, everything in her life seemed to be in the right place, she knew things would get hard once her relationship went public, but she didn't care because she knew what she wanted and that it would all be worth it.

* * *

Olivia walked into the Oval office around 4 pm, Fitz immediately stood up to greet her. He opened his arms for her and she welcomed his embrace.

"I feel like I haven't seen you in forever" he said and kissed the side of her head.

"I know… I miss you but reporters are still looking at my every move"

"I don't sleep well when you are not with me" he pouted

"I don't either, but I'm sure things will be back to normal soon" She took his hand and walked to the couch so they would be more comfortable. "Harrison will be staying at my place until he gets settled, it didn't feel right to send him to a hotel"

"I understand" Fitz knew that he didn't have to worry about her sharing her place with Harrison. "How is he doing?"

"As ok as can be expected, he lost a lot of weight, and he stopped caring much about his appearance. I guess he just needs some time to get back to his old self "

"I called the lawyer, he's coming tomorrow morning, we need to talk to the kids" He told her.

"Are you coming up for dinner?" She asked him.

"Yes I am, I guess we can do it then"

"All right, you need to get back to work… I'm going to go see the kids" She tried to get up but Fitz held her tighter. "Fitz…"

"Don't go" He Pouted.

"You have work to do" she countered.

"Please" Olivia gently grabbed his face and kissed him passionately, but she broke the kiss much too soon for his liking.

"If you behave there might be more of that later" While he was still dazed she got up and winked at him before leaving his office

"You are going to be the death of me" He heard her laugh right before she closed the door behind her.

Fitz left his office before 6 pm to go have dinner. It was just a normal meal like any other, but when they were done Fitz asked Karen and Jerry to stay.

"Guys we wanted to talk to you about something" Fitz started.

"Did we do something?" Jerry asked, he was still concerned about the events from the interview

"No, you didn't do anything" Fitz told him.

"I talked to Liv a few days ago about her becoming you legal guardian in case anything happens to me. We figured you guys wouldn't want to go back to your mother"

"Yeah that's a definitive no" Jerry said, Karen was quiet.

"I am going to leave that clearly stated on my will, now we also wanted to make that official since now, not just if I wasn't here, but since our relationship is still a secret we are going to wait until at least we go public, and also the lawyer told me it's simpler after we get married" Fitz explained "Now, if God forbid that will had to be used, I want you guys to promise me you will make sure its enforced, that you won't let you mother take Teddy, since he can't really fight for himself"

"Yeah, dad I swear if mother puts up a fight, even if we have to go with Liv into deep hiding again" The room was tense, and Karen was still very quiet.

"We looked into adoption to avoid that from happening, but she would have to give up her rights as a parent, and if she were willing to do that then she wouldn't try to take you guys anyway, but we don't know and right now it seems risky to ask" Liv told them "Also it's a really big deal and we wanted to make sure you guys agree"

"Liv come on, how couldn't I want that, you know it. This is getting gloomy, nothing bad is going to happen we've been through too much already like dad's been shot twice. I still would love it for it to be that official, so who knows maybe with some time Mellie Umbridge will cool down and agree to free us from her" Jerry reached for Liv's hand and smile.

"Karen, you are awfully quiet sweetheart, is everything ok?" Fitz asked full of concern. Karen looked up, her eyes were glassy and before she said anything she started crying. Fitz quickly got up and went to her, he put his arms around her trying to calm her. Olivia was worried she didn't want her as a parent and Jerry was confused.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Fitz asked again.

"Nothing" she finally said between sobs "I'm just a little overwhelmed"

"Why?" Fitz inquired

"I just didn't expect this. Like I knew we would be a family and all but it never occurred to me Liv was willing to take us without you being here let alone officially adopt us" She was finally calming down "Like if my own mother doesn't care about me…" She wiped her eyes, her admission made both Fitz and Olivia's heart ache. Karen finally looked up and Liv was also standing next to her.

Olivia opened her arms and Karen left her father's embrace and hugged Liv tightly. Jerry was stone faced holding back his tears, Fitz wrapped his arms around both of them and at last Jerry got up to join the group hug, he gave up on trying not to cry.

"Karen why did you have to make me cry like this, you better not tell anyone" Jerry's comment lightened the mood and they all laughed.

Friday morning the lawyer arrived and they met at the residence instead of the Oval, because it was a very personal matter. Everything was settled as the wanted, Fitz also left instructions for trust funds to be set up for his future children even though that wasn't happening for a while. Afterwards it was like a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders. He went back to work and Olivia decided to take Karen for some retail therapy, and as an opportunity for bonding with her. They still had some way to go to be as close as Jerry was with her. It was taking longer with Karen because their everyday lives didn't involve spending as much time together.

* * *

The following week on Tuesday, Tom was released from the hospital and Fitz still hadn't given an order on what to do with him. Tom was taken to an apartment to be held on some sort of house arrest. Olivia and him had been going over different plans of action, but they were just not sure. For a moment they considered sending him to live a quiet peaceful life at some small town, kind of like a protected witness thing, but they didn't feel comfortable having him roaming free because he knew too much about too many things.

Fitz also thought about reinstating him as an agent, but he felt like it wouldn't be right for his actions to have seemingly no consequence. Then Olivia suggested sending him to a minimum security prison, but they also feared what could happen with all he knew being surrounded by a questionable crowd. They finally decided it was best to have him do a job close to them, so they could keep an eye on him, but not something too important so it didn't look like he was being rewarded. The problem was they still hadn't come up with a position that filled their requirements.

"What if I hire him at OPA, Huck could keep an eye on him" Olivia offered

"I don't know…" Fitz wasn't sure that was a good idea.

"You can't give him some random job here, people know him, it would raise questions, like if he did not retire why is he not back in his old job" Olivia tried to reason with Fitz. "After all, as far as people know, he nearly died a hero"

"Hmm… that is true"

"But if I hire him, even if people find out, then they will just believe he retired from the government, but still wanted to be close."

"I will think about it" Fitz finally conceded.

"And really, my team will keep him on a short leash"

"Aren't you uncomfortable with the idea of having another B613 veteran there?" Fitz just worried about her safety.

"Not really, Huck is completely loyal to me, Quinn knows the consequences of stepping out of line already and she has proven she won't do it again so even if Tom wanted to sway them to the dark side I don't think he could. Also let's not forget he started seeking redemption since he revealed command's plans to me and Huck, and almost died for it."

"I guess you are right… as always" Fitz told her and gave her a peck on the lips "Why don't you talk to your team, see if they are ok with it and how would it work. Then we can make a decision"

"Sounds like a plan"

* * *

The next month went by in a blur. The gladiators agreed to take Tom into the team and have him on probation, and Huck said he would make sure he caused no trouble. Fitz also decided to keep him on house arrest for a little while, he still was not good to resume physical activity and Fitz wanted to him go through a psych evaluation, he knew Tom could not possibly be mentally ok, but he wanted to make sure he was at least not evidently dangerous. His doctors also said he needed physiotherapy, and since he wasn't officially a criminal he was still supposed to do that at the hospital where he had recovered. Fitz worked things out so he would be taken to his therapy sessions and only leave his apartment for that. Tom agreed to work for OPA, when Fitz gave the ok, so things seemed to be settled on that front.

The five week mark for Fitz to be declared healthy had finally arrived. He was more than excited to go to his doctors appointment that morning, it was the day he expected to be cleared to do anything he wanted. It was the middle of the week, but he had everything planned for a fantastic and romantic evening.

"Morning doc" He said happily

"Someone is cheerful" Dr. Akers commented

"Well… my relationship is going even better than expected so yeah I'm looking forward to you telling me I'm all good"

"Mr. President, I don't want to cross a line, but since I can't say anything to anyone and well you told me you are seeing someone" The Doctor had a hunch and he wanted to confirm "Are you dating Miss Pope? I know you said no on the interview, but you also said you are single which I know you are not" Fitz just looked at the doctor unsure if he should come clean.

"Look I'm sorry, you don't have to tell me, I just agree that you guys would make a great couple and my wife would be very disappointed if you end up with someone else" Fitz let out a chuckle.

"Rest assured doc, your wife won't be disappointed" Fitz didn't say anything else, and it was not necessary, Dr. Akers got the message loud and clear.

Fitz went back to work with a pep in his step, he didn't mind his doctor knowing, he actually trusted him and he was very happy to hear people we pinning for him and Olivia to end up together. He texted Liv to get ready for the night of her life, he was even tempted to propose to her that night, but decided against it since he still hadn't bought the ring. Work had been hectic and he spent all his free time with her so it was hard to get away and calmly choose the right ring for his future wife.

He just didn't expect what was coming his way, all his hopes for the evening were shattered the minute we went back to the West Wing, Cyrus was waiting for him with news of an urgent matter that needed him out of the country immediately. It was just his luck, finally healthy and the world decides he is needed right at that moment. He called Liv to apologize and promised to reschedule.

When he returned almost a week later he was all ready with new plans, but that afternoon Liv was in Manhattan because of a client, she hadn't been expecting Fitz to be back for another couple of days. When she returned Jerry got the flu and everyone freaked out about it since he had pneumonia a few months before, turned out he wasn't that ill, but right when they thought they were out of the woods Teddy got appendicitis.

The doctor told him he would be just fine after the surgery, but still, recovery on a toddler can be really hard and everyone was on edge. On top of all work had been particularly hard for Fitz those weeks, too many hours, Olivia was also busy with her team, and helping Harrison get back on his feet and Huck get back to his family. It seemed like they were needed at all times for different reasons and always away from each other. Eventually Teddy's last follow up appointment came along and he was perfectly fine, children heal quite fast. However, their romantic reunion was the farthest thing on their minds after everything that had happened.

* * *

It was Monday afternoon, it had been a little over a month since Fitz was given the all clear by Dr. Akers, nothing had gone according to his plans so he was just happy they had been incident free for the past 48 hours.

He went up to the residence for dinner a little before 6 pm, Liv had just arrived from her office. He wanted to have dinner with his family even though he had to go back to work afterwards. The last few weeks had been exhausting, at least he had already completely healed from the bullet wound. Since all of his plans with Olivia had been ruined after the doctor finally cleared him he had just stopped making them, and just prayed they'd get some time for themselves soon.

"Hey babe" he greeted Olivia who was sitting in the living room. He leaned down for a quick kiss before flopping in the couch next to her.

"Tough day?" She asked

"Very"

Liv was nursing a glass of wine in her hands and handed it to Fitz, then she proceded to pour another one for herself.

"Do you know if the kids asked for dinner to be prepared?"

"I don't think so, we could get take out" She replied

"How about Thai?"

"Sure"

"I'll get Lauren on it" Fitz got his phone and quickly texted his secretary.

Jerry came into the room right after and sat next to his dad.

"Hi Liv, Hey Dad, is it possible for me to take Teddy to camp David… like today?" He asked "I know it's late, It's just that Karen is with her friend, and well I have no friends here so I'm really bored and I told Teddy I'd take him there after he got better and he's been pestering me all day cause I accidentally said the word s'mores in front of him" Jerry rambled to his dad.

"Hmm, I guess, we just have to coordinate with your agents, but it's Camp David not some public place so I guess there's no problem" He was too tired to argue and didn't find anything wrong with it.

"Awesome, I will tell his nanny and get packing"

Fitz and Olivia moved to the kitchen to snack on something while they drank, they were both pretty hungry. She put some popcorn in the microwave and they sat down on the counter to eat it. They chatted a little bit about their days and before they knew it the wine was gone. Both of them were more relaxed, just waiting for the food to arrive when Karen barged into the kitchen with her friend in tow.

"Dad! what is this I hear that Jerry is leaving for Camp David"

"Karen where are your manners" She followed her dads gaze to her confused friend.

"Sorry, Dad Liv this is my friend Anna" She motioned towards them.

"Nice to meet you young lady" Fitz extended his hand for her to shake and she nervously did. Then she said hello to Liv and shook her hand too.

"So, Karen sweetheart what is the matter?" Fitz patiently inquired.

"Oh… right, Jerry just told me he's going to Camp David right now like when did that happen"

"Well, he asked and I didn't see any problem with it" Fitz told her calmly. "He said that he's bored, and Teddy wants to go"

"Why didn't he ask me? I want to go too" Fitz was getting impatient with Karen acting like a little child.

"Karen, you have company"

"He could wait until tomorrow" She said. Fitz rubbed his temple, he needed more wine or something stronger. "Or Anna could come with us"

"Have you even asked her if she's interested in going or if she's allowed to?" Olivia asked.

"No" She said and looked down embarrassed "Hey Anna, I'm sorry, I got carried away. Would you like to go? It's super fun I swear you will love it"

"It sounds pretty cool, but I only asked for permission to come here, I'd have to ask" Anna shyly answered.

"Well you have permission to sleep over at my place and technically Camp David is my place too" Karen reasoned.

"Yeah, I don't know if that will work on my parents"

"Why don't you figure that out first? Call her parents and if they agree you all can go. I'll tell Jerry to wait for you until you know" Olivia offered. "If she can't go you guys stay here and do whatever you had planned and you can join your brothers tomorrow"

"Fine" Karen said after a few moments of silence and she left.

"You want more wine, or scotch?" Liv asked.

"I have a meeting at 8…" She looked at him expectantly "So I guess water" Fitz pouted, Olivia chuckled and went to fill a glass of water for him, and refill her wine glass. His phone started buzzing just as she was opening the wine bottle.

"Oh thank God" Fitz said to the person on the line and hung up shortly after. "Babe pull out the scotch I'm free for the evening" He said smiling.

"That's great, what happened?"

"Cyrus just called to tell me my 8 o'clock postponed for tomorrow morning" He explained "He will have to move things around a bit, but this is a huge relief" She handed him his glass and he gratefully took it. Their food was delivered shortly after, just as he and Olivia were eating ready to eat the Jerry barged in.

"Liv why did you text me to wait? Why is Karen coming, I thought she had plans I don't want Teddy to fall asleep before we get there" he complained.

"She did, but she wants to go too. Just wait for a few minutes too see if her friend gets permission" Olivia told him.

"Fine" He was about to turn and leave when Karen came in running.

"Her parents said yes!" She said excitedly.

"So can we go now? I'm getting old here waiting for you" Jerry told his sister.

"Oh shut up"

"Guys behave" Liv said looking at the annoyed expression on Fitz's face.

"Sorry" They both said at the same time.

"Guess we are leaving now" Jerry said, and he walked over to Liv "Bye Liv" He kissed her cheek "Bye dad" he hugged Fitz "I'll see you guys in a couple of days"

Karen followed right after her brother to say goodbye and then they finally left. Fitz got the plates and served the food so they could take it to the living room, a little while after the kids left the kitchen he was notified they had left the White House.

"Teenagers" he said and nodded his head, then he smiled and turned to Liv. "They are a handful, but I rather have both of them fighting and turning my head grey than… well you know"

"I know" Liv said and reached for his hand, he lifted it to his lips to kiss it.

"Oh my God" Fitz said all of a sudden startling Liv.

"Are you ok" she said with concern. He just broke into a huge grin

"Liv, my meeting was cancelled"

"Yes…"

"All kids are gone" he continued

"Oh my God" She finally caught on, they had the time and the house. "We have the place to ourselves, and you are off from work" She gave him a knowing look.

"So…" He said waiting for her to answer.

"I know what you are thinking and I agree, but to be honest I am really really hungry."

"Actually I'm pretty hungry too, how about we eat first" Fitz suggested.

"Sounds good to me"

They took their drinks and food to their bedroom and ate at the small table that he uses sometimes for work. After all it was a fun relaxed evening, they were both happy and carefree, everything seemed right in their world at last. After weeks of different events and incidents that kept them celibate for longer than they intended, it was finally their night without even expecting it.

After they were finished with dinner, they were both a little tipsy and Fitz went to get his ipod to put on some music, he wanted something they could dance to and the first thing he found was a playlist Olivia had made, and after tapping on shuffle, Sexyback started playing. They were both dancing together and then Fitz pulled a chair and asked Olivia to sit there because he said he wanted to do a little show for her. Just as he started to dance, Worth it started to play.

Olivia was unable to stop giggling at his attempt to dance for her, seeing her laughing made him extremely happy. Fitz slowly removed his jacket, and gave her a playful smirk he was trying to seductively remove his clothes. Then he proceded to take of his dress shirt, leaving him in his undershirt.

"Oh God, why are you wearing so many clothes?" She complained, Fitz tried to keep his cool, but he broke out laughing.

"Well aren't you impatient"

"It has been a while mister" She replied.

"That is true" he said as he took off the white t-shirt. "Maybe if you helped…" he slowly walked towards her. "We could move this along" He stopped when he was at arm's length from her.

Olivia stood up from the chair she was sitting in and reached for the waistband of his pants and pulled him close to her, she then unbuckled his belt, and unbuttoned his pants. She pushed them down and they fell to the floor, she placed her hands on his firm buttocks and pulled him even closer.

"You play dirty" he said in a hoarse voice. Before she had time to remove his boxers, he lowered his face to her and kissed her fiercely. His hands traveled from her face to her back, he fumbled trying to find the zipper of her dress. Her fingers were roaming all over his back.

Fitz finally unzipped her dress and it fell to the floor, he picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his torso. His boxers had gotten really tight and he was begging to be released. He gently laid Olivia on the bed and looked at her hungrily. He hastily removed his boxers and threw them across the room.

"My god you are beautiful" He climbed on top of her and unclasped her bra, Fitz started trailing kisses from her neck and down her body, he caressed and grazed his lips against every inch of exposed skin. When he reached the hem of her panties he looked up at her. Olivia was propped up on her elbows, he slid of her panties without breaking eye contact, Lust evident in his eyes.

While still looking at her he started caressing her inner thighs with his right hand, while holding himself up with the other. They kept their eyes locked, that is until he slid his fingers inside her, she gasped and her back arched, being overcome with pleasure. Fitz stopped only so he could taste her, Olivia moaned loudly and Fitz continued his assault until he felt her tremble with the shockwaves of her climax.

"Oh my god Fitz" She pulled him up and kissed him fiercely. Their foreplay didn't last as much as it usually did, they were both desperate to be connected.

She was still trying to catch her breath when he buried himself in her. He started slow, but he quickly picked up the pace of his thrusts. In one swift movement he had her on op of him, he held her close and kissed her everywhere he could. Olivia had her arms wrapped around his neck, she ran her hands through his hair as she threw her head back moaning audibly. They moved in sync, knowing exactly what the other needed. Their lovemaking was hungry and frantic, it had been far too long. As she was getting close to her climax she dug her nails into his back, she moaned his name.

"Oh God yes" she could feel the unmistakable fire building low in her abdomen, she gasped as a shockwaves cursed through her body, he trusted into her few more times and then held her tight as he shuddered against her.

They stayed like that for a few moments before untangling themselves and falling back on the bed, he rested his head on the pillow and pulled her closer so her head rested on his chest.

"That was…"

"Everything" He completed her statement. "God I had missed this" Silence filled the room again, their breathing returned to normal, and they noticed the music was still playing.

"Fitz please change the playlist, that one makes me feel like we are having sex at a night club" He laughed out loud at her comment, and he was getting up to comply to her wishes when he noticed which song was playing.

"Wait I love this song" it was Sugar by Maroon 5, he started singing along.

"I don't wanna be needing your love  
I just wanna be deep in your love  
And it's killing me when you're away, ooh, baby,  
'Cause I really don't care where you are  
I just wanna be there where you are  
And I gotta get one little taste"

Fitz's voice was husky with desire, he didn't even reach the chorus before he started kissing her again, but with determination to take his time to explore every inch of her the way he liked to do it, there was no rush anymore. Round two was slow and tender, but still very passionate. Afterwards they laid together, limbs tangled, arms draped around each other in pure unadulterated bliss. Olivia brushed her lips against his collarbone and ran her hand across his chest. Fitz seemed to be in deep thought, but then he repositioned himself so he would be facing her, he gently caressed her face before suddenly moving away from her. She was startled as he got out of bed and walked around to his side and look for something on his nightstand drawer.

Olivia's heart rate quickened and her breath hitched when she saw him return to bed with a small velvet box in his hands. He took her left hand and kissed it.

"Olivia, my sweet baby" He looked at her tenderly "Love of my life, light of my days" He began getting choked up, tears pooled in his eyes. "You have no idea, how much I dreamed of doing this" He wiped his eyes with the back of the hand still holding the box. "I made all this plans, but life kept getting in the way" he chuckled softly. Olivia was completely speechless.

"I just wanted it to be special, but the truth is, every single moment I get to spend with you is special. Life has shown us time and again that anything can happen, that everything can change in the blink of an eye, but the one thing I'm certain about is that as long as we are together we can get through anything, no matter how many curve balls life throws at us"

"I love you so much that there are not enough words in the english vocabulary to express the way I feel about you, I want to spend the rest of my life trying my hardest to be the man you deserve, and making you as happy as you make me" He opened the box.

"Olivia Carolyn Pope Will you do me the honor of being my wife" There were tears falling freely down her face, she was completely overcome with emotion.

"Yes, yes I want to marry you" She barely croaked out the words. Fitz took the ring from the box and carefully slid it on her ring finger. It was a beautiful cathedral platinum ring with a 2.5 carat princess cut diamond in the middle, and smaller diamonds on bezel accent on the band. It was classic and elegant.

Fitz captured her mouth on a sweet loving kiss, sealing their promise.


	22. Chapter 22

_**AN: Yes I know, its been ages. I updated my other story thinking it had been longer for that one, and I extended the hiatus on this one a lot. I apologize, writing is really hard sometimes, wish I could say it's becuase of work, but unfortunately I'm still unemployed. **_

_**Brief recap: last chapter Harrison returned, they finally took off the chastity belt, Fitz proposed, and she said yes.**_

* * *

Fitz woke up the next morning with a big smile on his face, Olivia's head was lying on his chest and her arm was draped across his torso. He inhaled the sweet scent of her shampoo, and relived the previous night in his head. He knew he had to get up and get ready to work, but he just couldn't find it in him to move. She felt so good right next to him, and he didn't want to disturb her, even if Cyrus had a heart attack.

However Cyrus seemed to sense Fitz was about to bail on his meeting because the phone on his night stand started ringing loudly, waking Olivia up in the process. She stirred, and moved away from him so he could reach for the phone.

"Morning Cy" He said into the receiver, trying to hide his annoyance.

"Just wanted to remind you that your schedule changed, and you need to be here earlier" Cyrus told him.

"Yes, I know, you actually interrupted me in my way to the shower" Fitz lied.

"Ok then, hurry, see you in a few" Cyrus hung up the phone right after. Fitz groaned and fell back on the bed.

"Babe, you need to hurry" Olivia reminded him.

"I know, but I don't want to, I'd rather stay here and hang out with my fiancée" He loved how that sounded.

"But you can't, because you have a world to run remember?" She leaned down and caressed his face. "Also if you leave now, and don't give Cyrus any excuse to complicate your day you can come back earlier and we can have some fun because we are still kid free"

"Hmm… I like the sound of that" He gently placed his hand at the nape of her neck and pulled her closer. He started kissing her softly, but she moved away before he could deepen the kiss, and he groaned again.

"You need to get up, right now" She told him sternly.

"Fine" He sat up again "But we are definitely continuing this tonight" He kissed her again and left the bed. Olivia fell back in the bed, and smiled, she couldn't wait to tell Abby the news.

After Fitz was finished with his shower she got in and locked the door behind her, she knew him too well. A few seconds after she went in he was already trying to get in.

"Oh come on" She heard from outside the door.

"God you are so predictable, just get ready for work Mr. President" She chastised him.

"But I have to brush my teeth" He countered.

"I heard you already did, and if you haven't ,I'm sure there must be another bathroom available for you"

"Fine" He reluctantly went to get ready, he was still trying to stall, but Cyrus called again and told him he had to get moving.

When Olivia was out of the shower Fitz had gone to work already, she was going to get some breakfast, but decided to get some food somewhere and head to her apartment to see Harrison. He had finally found an apartment, but he couldn't move in for another two weeks. She really wanted to share the news. The ring was going to hang around her neck, and be hidden inside her clothes while in public, until her relationship was out and enough time passed.

"Good morning" She greeted Harrison after she opened the door to her place.

"Hey Liv, I was not expecting you so early, I just made coffee"

"It's fine, I brought breakfast, and I called… well everyone I have big news, they should be here soon" Harrison took the bags from her and they started setting the table. They made more coffee and put the orange juice on a pitcher. They also put the food out on the table so it was ready to be served. Abby was the first one to arrive.

"Morning guys, so what's thee big news why were we required here so urgently" She voiced full of curiosity.

"Let's just wait until everyone is here" Liv told Abby.

"Can I at least eat something I'm really hungry" Abby tried to reach for a hash brown, but Olivia smacked her hand. "Hey!"

"Just wait for a little bit, I'm sure they'll be here soon."

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door, it was Quinn, Only Huck was missing. The four of them sat at the table and chatted for a few minutes. Abby kept trying to steal some food, and Olivia kept swatting her hand away. Then the other two started complaining too, it was rare for Huck to be late. About twenty minutes after Quinn arrived, Huck finally showed up.

"Sorry guys" He said as soon as he walked in.

"Is everything ok" Olivia worried for a moment.

"Yeah, I just… Kim let me drive Javi to school and there was traffic" Their friends totally understood the importance of that and quickly told him it was fine.

"Can you tell us now? What was so urgent that we had to be here right now" Abby asked again as she reached for a spoon to get some scrambled eggs and bacon on her plate.

"Well…" Olivia reached for the back of her neck to take the necklace off. She took it off really carefully and brought it down to her lap so she could put the ring back on her finger. Then she proceeded to hold up her hand for her friends to see. It took them a few moments to see the ring, when they caught on their eyes went wide with surprise. "Fitz proposed"

"Oh my God! I knew it!" Abby exclaimed, she had been suspecting it was either that or a baby, she was leaning more to proposal though because Olivia seemed calm.

"Congratulations, I'm really happy for you Liv" Quinn told her sincerely.

"This is really great, I know how much you guys have waited for this" Harrison got up and opened his arms for a hug, Olivia got up and hugged him tightly.

"Congratulations Liv, I'm glad things have worked out so well" Huck gave her a small smile.

"So what's the plan" Abby asked, they all knew it was going to be a long journey before they could announce their engagement, and finally have the wedding.

"For now, Fitz will start dropping hints that he's seeing someone, and he's going to act like it totally took him by surprise, you know that it happened and he was not even looking for it" She started telling her friends about how things would be played to the public. "Then after a while, he insists he will not wait longer tan two months, I think it should be more, but well we have time to discuss it, he will say he is in a relationship, and soon after we will do an interview"

"Sounds solid" Harrison agreed.

"Yeah and after the cat's out of the bag, I think a few months will be enough to announce the engagement, I mean it's not like you guys just met, it's more like you "just" realized you are in love"  
Abby made air quotations.

"It pretty much depends on the reaction of the public" Olivia wanted to be extra careful even if Fitz didn't care.

"I'm sure it will go well, America really likes you" Quinn told her with confidence, every time a magazine or website speculated about the president's love life her name popped up and people approved of her.

* * *

Fitz was so happy he could burst. He wanted to run to the Truman balcony, and scream to the top of his lungs that he was getting married to the love of his life. He literally wanted to tell anyone who would listen, but he knew Olivia would flip if he did that that so he just kept the reason of his happiness to himself.

"Someone's chipper this morning" Cyrus told him after the meeting.

"Yeah well, all the kids went to Camp David last night so Liv, and I finally had the place for ourselves" The one person he could wait to tell about his engagement was Cyrus. Fitz knew the old man would do his best to find everything that could go wrong. If it was up to Cyrus, they would make their relationship public five years after he left the White House.

"Now that makes sense. You need to be careful when she spends the night, after the interview… I'm just saying they could still be following her" And there he was, confirming Fitz should definitely not tell him he proposed.

"Relax Cyrus, her detail is always keeping an eye out for nosy reporters" They had everything planned out so she could come, and go undetected, unless they wanted her to be seen.

Sometimes she went over there for a few hours in the afternoon, making sure the press knew. Then they would make it public that she was doing something with either Jerry or Karen or both of them. It was part of the strategy, they wanted to sell the public that she bonded with the kids first, and it brought her closer to Fitz.

"Just looking out for the well being of this administration Mr. President" Cyrus added.

"Get a life Cyrus" Fitz left Cyrus out of the oval, he would not let anyone spoil his mood. He went straight to his desk and took a sit. He texted Olivia to see how her morning was going.

Fitz was just going through the motions throughout the day, all he wanted to do was lock himself up with Olivia in a room and take her 6 ways to Sunday. He was aware his behavior was that of a horny teenager, but that was just how she made him feel, specially after the extremely long period of celibacy time. She wouldn't admit it if asked, but she felt the exact same way. Their love was stronger than ever, and their emotions were bubbling below the surface.

They were both incredibly happy, and excited, after all they had been through, things seemed to finally be going the right way for them. They still had a long journey ahead of them, but it was one they were both eager to start.

* * *

It had been nearly two months since Fitz proposed. He was about to confirm publicly that he was in a relationship. Olivia hadn't managed to persuade him to wait longer, he said he had already waited long enough. Luckily they had the support of the kids, and her gladiators would do everything to make sure things went smoothly.

The news of their engagement went great with the teenagers, both of them already knew it was a long time coming. Abby and Quinn had already volunteered to do all the wedding planning, and Harrison volunteered to walk her down the aisle. Stephen had assured her that he would be there no matter what.

Teddy had been signed up to be ring bearer, Jerry for best man, and Karen for maid of honor, much to her surprise. Olivia figured that way she wouldn't have to choose between her friends, (and have Abby rub it in Quinn's face) and it would strengthen her bond with Karen.

The kids were back in school, and both happy to be staying in DC rather than going off to boarding school. Olivia still visited regularly, and they had even made a couple of public mall visits with her and Karen, so people saw how she fit right in. Fitz had been dropping subtle hints about his future, and people were eager to find out.

On an interview he had been to, he said how he was looking forward to the future, and that sometimes the best things are the ones that you least expect. Then, on a different occasion he mentioned how great it was when you had someone to share important life events with, he also said things like he had been blessed with a lot of second chances. When asked directly if he was in a relationship he simply said I plead the fifth, or laughed nervously, and changed the subject.

It was Friday afternoon and Fitz had already gotten everything ready for his big announcement. There had been quite the buzz on social media for weeks, but when the White House released that he would be doing an announcement, it was a trending topic in no time. Olivia was worried, but deep down she was happy, it was a good thing for their relationship. Soon they would be able to live their relationship freely to the eyes of everyone.

Olivia picked his tie, and he got words of encouragement from his teenagers, they would be using their official social media accounts to support their dad's statement afterwards. Abby and Harrison were at the White House to be on top of things. Cyrus as always was quite grumpy, but he was trying to be useful, and even supportive in his own way. Olivia was hanging out with him because she knew he wouldn't try to sugarcoat it if things didn't go as planned.

Fitz stood at the podium, all eyes, cameras, and microphones were on him. He cleared his throat so break the complete silence that suddenly filled the room.

"My fellow Americans, I know there has been a lot of speculation regarding my personal life, and I stand here today to put those rumors to rest"

"The truth is" He paused for dramatic effect "I am in a relationship with the most talented, smart, generous, and beautiful woman in the world, and I could not be happier"

"This is a great time for my family, at the moment we are enjoying this new chapter in our lives, and we would really appreciate to be given some privacy. Her identity will be revealed in due time, and I kindly ask you to please be patient. I will not be answering any questions right now."

"Thank you all for coming"

Fitz walked out of the podium while the journalists demanded more information. Social platforms were going crazy. Jerry tweeted "Proud of you dad" Karen tweeted "Way to go dad" and the notifications didn't stop coming in. People were posting polls about who this mystery woman was, and a lot of them voted it was Olivia.

People argued she spent a lot of time with them, and it made sense how he went from I'm not seeing anyone, to completely in love in such a short time. They said that if it was someone new it would have taken longer to make it public, and the kids wouldn't be so thrilled.

Cyrus stood at the podium to dismiss everyone despite their complaints, and then they all got together in a conference room to analyze the sudden tidal wave of information. There were all sorts of comments, and opinions, most of them positive. People posted videos of his announcement in both Vine and Instagram, and some were already making gifs. Everyone commented on how happy he looked, and how it was obvious he was totally in love.

"Everything seems to be going well" Harrison stood in front of everyone in the room with Abby.

"And almost everyone thinks you are the mystery woman" Abby added

"That's a good thing Liv" Fitz tried to reassure her.

"Yeah, it's mostly positive comments" Karen told her.

"Some even say that it would absolutely suck if it turns out it's not you" Jerry was busy looking at tumblr posts.

"Well I guess we are good then" Olivia said at last "I'm gonna have to stop coming until we make the big reveal"

"Babe, that would actually make them suspicious, just do everything normally" Fitz didn't want to be away from her at all.

"My usual public visits yes, but my overnight stays I don't think so, as careful as we are I'm pretty sure I will be followed everywhere"

"I guess" Fitz was upset and everyone in the room noticed.

Harrison and Abby looked down at their feet, and Cyrus just rolled his eyes. The kids exchanged knowing looks, they knew Fitz would be in the worst mood.

"President grumpy pants reporting for duty starting tomorrow" Jerry said loud enough for everyone to hear.

"You are lucky you are not the one working with him" Cyrus said.

There was a brief moment of silence before Karen and Olivia started laughing, followed by Jerry. Abby tried to hold it in but she couldn't, even when Harrison shot her a dirty look. He wanted to laugh too, but deemed it inappropriate since they weren't that close.

"Really now" Fitz said when the laughter subsided.

"You know it's true dad" Karen said.

"It won't be for that long anyway, right?" Jerry knew it was probably somewhere between two weeks and a month.

"Yeah, two weeks" Fitz said matter of factly

"Don't you mean two months?" Olivia countered.

"One month" Cyrus decided to end the argument himself. "Now what's next, we have things to do"

Neither of them were happy, but it was a fair compromise. The meeting ended soon after, and everyone was dismissed. Fitz had to go back to work, and Olivia decided to stay a little with the kids before she went home. The older kids didn't really need help with their homework unless it was a big project, but Liv wanted them to know she was there if they needed it. Teddy was a whole different story, he was starting preschool so she spent a lot of time with him.

That night she left without stopping by the oval first, she was upset about him being so stubborn, and unwilling to take the necessary time, and he was upset she wanted to make them wait for no good reason. Since she did not want to start an argument knowing she had to leave soon, she just texted him, and went home.

"Why didn't you come see me before you left?" He said right after she answered the phone. He called her right after she got home.

"Because… it was getting late, and I had to leave before it seemed weird that I was there for so long"

"Come on Olivia, no one was following you today, considering you were not going to spend the night the least you could do was come say goodbye" He knew he was overreacting, but sometimes he couldn't help it.

"Please don't make this into such a big deal" She was in no mood to argue, even though she pretended to be fine, she really wasn't happy about the whole separation thing either.

"I just don't understand, you are so adamant in taking things at the slowest pace possible, sometimes I think if it were up to you we would take Cyrus' advice, and make our relationship public until after I'm out of office"

"Fitz that's ridiculous"

"Is it really? Do you even want this?"

"Fitz… yeah… I mean of course I do"

"Well it really doesn't look like it"

The line was silent for a moment too long, Fitz exhaled audibly, and fought the urge to end the call. He patiently waited for her to talk again.

"I'm scared ok" She finally said, her voice broke a little, and he realized she was starting to cry. Fitz knew he had upset her, and hated himself for it, but he also knew that sometimes there was no other way to get her to talk to him.

"What are you so afraid of?" He said in a much softer tone.

"Im afraid people won't accept me… I'm afraid it could ruin all you have worked for, that they won't believe this charade we are putting up, that they will see right through it, that the cheating will be brought up again, and doing all of these would be all for nothing."

"I'm afraid I won't be able to handle it, and I will ruin everything" She was finally voicing her fears, and allowing him in.

"Liv…" He was trying to find the right words to say "I can't actually promise you everything will be exactly as we plan it because we both know that's not how life works, but I can promise you we are in this together no matter what, you are not doing this alone"

"Whatever happens we will face it together. This is not like before, we are not doing anything wrong, the past is just that, is past, gone, whatever happened, what we did, you have to let go. We can't allow the faults of the past cloud our future. That night at the pool we started over, clean slate, and we have something really amazing going on, a life that once seemed unattainable…"

"So allow yourself to enjoy it, and if you are scared just talk to me"

Fitz allowed his words to sink in, he could hear her breathing beginning to calm down.

"Ok" She finally said.

"Ok?" He chuckled at her brief response, and she laughed too.

"Yes, you are right… Thank you"

"Anytime"

"I miss you, but four weeks is not that long" She said in an attempt to make him feel better.

"I know, it's all worth it, I just have to look at the big picture" Fitz smiled knowing the storm was over.

"I should go to bed, I love you"

"I love you too" Fitz waited for her to disconnect the call, and feeling much better he was finally able to get back to work.

* * *

The couple of weeks were pretty much as expected, reporters were no longer setting up camp outside of her building after a few days, but she was still followed all the time. She spent some afternoons at the White House as usual, and Fitz took breaks from work so he could see her. Everyone was dying to finally know the truth, and the gladiators were going over their plan of action. Things seemed to be going according to plan until the universe decided they had it too easy.

It was late Thursday afternoon, and both Jerry and Teddy were watching some cartoons while eating fruit, and out of nowhere Teddy's face got really red. Soon after, the little boy started crying, and he sounded odd, Jerry noticed the unusual redness, and called for his nanny, while he checked for more symptoms, upon lifting his t-shirt he found he was beginning to get a rash.

Jerry realized he was probably having an allergic reaction, and started yelling for their agents to alert Dr. Akers, and to get ready for a possible hospital visit. He removed the t-shirt and tried to calm him down. Agent Matthews, the leader of Teddy's detail, as well as the rest of his, and Jerry's detail rushed to the medical unit. Karen caught up with them while Jerry was carrying his little brother out of the game room.

"Karen we might need to go to the hospital, call dad" Jerry said in a rush, then he got his phone out, and called Olivia, she had just left about 10 minutes earlier.

"Liv" Jerry said nervously once she answered the call.

"What happened?" She noticed something was wrong right away.

"I think Teddy is having a really bad allergic reaction to something" He said with panic clear in his voice.

"Oh God, ok stay calm, you need to go to the hospital, have you called your dad?"

"Yes, we are going to dr. Akers now for some epi or something, and I just told Karen to call, but I don't know if she reached him yet" Jerry told her.

"Ok, I'm going back right now, I'll be there in a few" Olivia hung up on Jerry to order her agent to go back. "Chris, back to the White House now, as fast as you can"

As they were all rushing to get Teddy the help he needed, Karen was told by Lauren that that the President couldn't take any calls, she said it was a medical emergency, so Lauren said she would try to reach him.

They reached the medical unit in no time, Teddy was already having trouble breathing so the doctor gave him the appropriate dose of epinephrin so he could breath normally again, and then take a more calm trip to the hospital to have proper tests made. Lauren called, and told them she reached Hal, but Cyrus refused to take the call, much less pass it to Fitz. She said Cyrus was also rejecting her calls.

Olivia got there right as they were leaving for the hospital, she left her car there and they all went in the same vehicle. Karen decided to call Cyrus herself but he wasn't picking up, so she called Hal, and told him what happened. Knowing the nature of the emergency Hal ignored Cyrus, and went straight to his boss. When that happened Cyrus finally answered Jerry's call.

"What the hell kid?"

"My brother went into anaphylactic shock, and we are on our way to the hospital" Cyrus stood there as Fitz rushed past him and gave him a murderous look.

"I will deal with you later" Fitz yelled at him.

"You brought this on yourself Cy, he's gonna rip your head off" Jerry said after hearing his dad, he hung up before Cyrus could say anything.

Part of the pediatric wing at the George Washington University Hospital had been secured for Teddy's arrival, they made it there in under five minutes. Their arrival was pretty inconspicuous, but when the President's motorcade left the White House with no explanation, to be subsequently spotted arriving at the hospital, suddenly it was all everyone talked about.

After they arrived Teddy was taken for testing while Olivia, Jerry, Karen, and his nanny stayed in the waiting room. Only Dr. Akers, and Agent Matthews went with him, the rest of the agents scattered all over the place. Fitz arrived soon after looking like a mad man.

"What happened?" He said out of breath.

"Allergic reaction" Jerry explained.

"To what?"

"We still don't know" This time Karen replied.

"We were just eating fruit, strawberries, kiwi, grapes, blueberries" Jerry told his dad "Doc said he will test for all of those, and he also asked what he had for lunch, breakfast… Grace told the doctor everything" Grace was his nanny.

"So we wait" Fitz said taking a seat next to Olivia. "You ok sweetheart? You are awfully quiet"

"Yeah, I'm just worried" Olivia gave him a faint smile.

Fitz wanted to do something to comfort her, but he thought she wouldn't be ok with a public display of affection, since they hadn't outed their relationship yet. However much to his surprise she reached for his hand, and leaned on his shoulder. She simply figured that wasn't a time to be worrying about formalities.

"I should call Abby" Liv said out of nowhere.

"What?"

"I'm sure they followed you here, and we don't want people making up stories"

Fitz just nodded, and Olivia got her phone out to call Abby. She answered on the second ring, she had been watching the news so she was expecting the call.

"Hey Abby, I need you at the podium" Olivia got to the point.

"What's the situation?" Abby voiced with concern.

"Nothing serious we hope, Teddy had a severe allergic reaction to something he ate, but he received proper care immediately, tests are being made"

"Ok, consider it handled"

"Thanks, I'll talk to you later"

"Hey Liv, are you ok?" Abby said before Olivia hung up.

"Yeah, just worried"

"Ok, keep me posted, take care" Abby hung up, and Olivia went back to waiting in silence.

After about a very long 45 minutes the doctors finally came out to tell them what was going on with Teddy. Fitz got up and pulled Olivia with him, he didn't let go of her hand, and again much to his surprise she didn't try to.

"Mr. President, I'm doctor O'Connor, I'm in charge of your son's care" He shook Fitz's hand. Dr. Akers stepped aside, since he wasn't hospital staff.

"How's my son"

"He's ok now, he had an anaphylactic reaction, but Dr. Akers provided the proper emergency treatment so he was out of life threatening danger when he got here. When ran some tests to find the cause, his airway is clear, we are started him on antihistamines, and I would like to keep him here for observation until tomorrow at least." Treating the President's son he could not allow room for mistakes, so he was going the extra mile on all aspects of his treatment.

"Sure as long as it's needed… Do you know what caused it?" Fitz asked

"I'm almost certain it was something he ate, but we'll know for sure in a couple of hours" The doctor explained.

"Ok, So can we see him now?"

"Sure… but hmm… only family is allowed" He said looking over to Olivia.

"Yes, I am aware" Fitz said shooting daggers out of his eyes. "Can you lead the way doctor, or do I need to find someone else?"

O'Connor hesitated for a moment, but seeing Fitz basically killing him with a look he realized defying the President of the United States would be the worst decision of his life. The four of them plus a handful of agents followed them to Teddy's room. The kids, and Olivia walked in first, the little boy was a bit groggy from the meds, but when he set eyes on Olivia he immediately extended his arms to her, as Fitz watched proudly.

"It's ok baby, you are fine" Olivia finally let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, she sat on the bed, and pulled Teddy into her lap.

Fitz sat on a stool next to the bed to stroke Teddy's hair, Karen and Jerry sat on the couch on the other side of the room. Everything was quiet, not even Jerry was making a stupid joke, he knew it was definitely not the right time. After a little while, they were all calm, and in such a quiet room, one by one they all dozed off.

A nurse walked into the room a couple of hours later, and smiled to herself. She just knew the President's mystery woman was Olivia, and she was pleased to confirm it. She quietly walked up to the bed, and gently shook Olivia awake.

"Miss Pope, I'm Lois, I'm the head nurse here in peds, I'm here to check on him" She said in a low voice not wanting to wake up anyone else, but when Olivia moved Fitz began to stir since he was still sitting on the stool while his upper body rested on the bed. He groggily stood up and greeted the nurse.

Then Olivia had to get up, and leave Teddy on the bed, so when his peaceful slumber was suddenly interrupted, and Olivia wasn't holding him anymore he started crying, and that was the end of the nap for the teenagers as well.

"It's all right buddy, I'll be done in a second" She said gently. "He seems to be doing ok, I'll be back at midnight, and then until 6am"

"Ok, thanks" Fitz told her.

"So no one is sleeping well tonight" Jerry was back with his usual comments.

"You two are going home, tomorrow is a school day" Fitz said firmly.

"Come on dad" Jerry complained.

"Yeah we want to stay"

"Your father is right, you will see him at home tomorrow when you get back from school" Olivia said leaving no room for discussion.

"Fine" Both teenagers unwillingly agreed. They said goodbye to everyone, and their agents took them home.

Olivia didn't resume her previous position, she sat on the edge of the bed, and rubbed Teddy's back until he fell asleep again. She wanted to go get a change of clothes, and she didn't want to disturb him again when she left.

"Fitz, I need to go home for a bag, I'll be back soon" She whispered to Fitz. "Do you want me to bring you something?"

"Sure, a change of clothes too, preferably something more comfortable than a suit" Olivia gave him a soft peck on the cheek, and left the room.

Though she left through the same back entrance they arrived in, the SUV was spotted less than a block from the hospital. Even though it was unmarked, and it was just one, reporters knew they better follow it considering the circumstances, and the fact that it came out of a back entrance. She went back to the White House first to get the clothes for Fitz, so they still didn't know who they were following, they had done the same when Karen, and Jerry left.

Reporters lost the car because she went to her house in hers, but hey were also outside her building as usual, since it was also known to the public she had spent her afternoon at the White House, and was just arriving home. Olivia went past them without a word on her way in, she gathered her things, and mentally prepared herself for the second round. She was pushing past them, all sorts of questions being thrown at her.

"Why are you just getting here, and leaving so soon?"  
"Are you going to the hospital?"  
"Are you the mystery woman?"  
"Is it for work or is something else going on there?"  
"Miss Pope are you dating The President?"

Without thinking Olivia stopped dead in her tracks, even her agents were caught off guard, they held people back waiting for her to move or do something. She had no idea what had gotten into her, but she turned around to the last person who had asked the question, and looked straight at the camera.

"Yes, I am, now if you'll excuse me, there's somewhere I need to be"

* * *

_**AN2: How about that? So the truth is finally out, and they will be dealing with that next chapter. There will be more time jumps since this story is coming to an end, but worry not I will not leave out anything important. Hope you guys enjoyed it.**_

_**I also want to thank all of you who have stuck with my very slow writing since the beginning. Shout out to jennkyle for that PM that reminded me I had to get this done.**_

_**Please review :)**_


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